


Summer Reds (Like Summer Blues)

by douxpink



Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: (All the Noah are Vampires), Alternate Universe - High School, Blood Drinking, Blood and Gore, Drastic Change in Appearance, Drastic Personality Change, Friendship/Love, Gen, Miranda is an Intern at a Hospital, No Innocence or Akuma, Summer Vacation, Supernatural - Freeform, Swearing, The Nickname Red Doesn't have a Negative Connotation!!!!, Undead, Underage Drinking, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2020-02-03
Packaged: 2020-12-14 18:33:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 27,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21020351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/douxpink/pseuds/douxpink
Summary: Allen, nicknamed “Red” for his red hot attitude and auburn hair, gets bit by a vampire on his way home from school. He dies that night and is reborn as an undead vampire, thrust into the world of the supernatural when he just wants to enjoy his summer with his friends. Along with the fangs and sudden lust for blood, Red’s personality changes drastically as well, going from a foul-mouthed tough guy, to a more sensitive, gentler version of himself. Keeping a secret from you friends is hard, and it's even harder when the same man who turned you won't leave you alone.





	1. Locket - Crumb

**Author's Note:**

> I’M LITERALLY INSANE LMAO if you could just SEE how many google docs i have about dgm prompts I have written- (I just counted and this is prompt number 26..) i’m literally insane like this is not okay.. Ehem anyway here’s an idea I thought of on october 11th and have been writing for HOURS since the ideas just keep coming to me. I get an itch to just write all the angsty scenes before they escape my brain but we gotta introduce everything first before we get to the suffering. Also like ok wow hello no social life! instead of being social i am writing dgm aus in my googledocs like a crazy person (my roommates were literally having a party downstairs while i wrote some of this trash too lmao. Our worlds are just so- like wow this is how I spend my free time hmmm) It’s also annoying how i’ll start a fic and then never finish it cause im shit at writing but i-i can't stop with these dgm prompts.. They consume me.. Anyway enjoy~ i am a crackhead but i am a crackhead who needs validation so here we are on ao3. :D also the chapter titles are just names of various songs I listened to while writing this lol~~~

**1 Locket - Crumb**

It was the last day of school and spirits were high with summer vacation just on the horizon. There was the graduation ceremony earlier today, held for the students who would be going off to university, and was also a way for the students and teachers alike to say their goodbyes. The other students would cheer and mingle, saying their farewells to the upperclassmen, before they’d return again in the fall, and Red was one of those people. 

Currently though, he was sitting in the courtyard with his friends as they’d had the same tradition at the end of every school year. The group of 4 would stay behind after everyone had cleared out and all the festivities had died down, and they’d sit in the grass and burn their old homework and light firecrackers to symbolize a fresh start-- a clean slate. 

Since they’d all be going into their fourth year starting in September, they had to make every second count, and hopefully they’d all graduate and go to the same university too. That was the plan at least, but Red had just barely made it through his third year. He knew he probably should start studying harder and taking school more seriously if he wanted to get into the same kind of schools as Lenalee or Lavi, but it was summer, he didn’t have to think about that just yet! (At least if he did end up failing, he’d be bringing Kanda down with him. They were both hopeless.) 

The group was expecting to have a kick-ass time this summer. No more pointless school hassles and homework to worry about, and all the free time in the world to hang out together. Throwing their troubles to the wind, they were going to make this summer count. And what better time to start than now.

“Guess what I brought guys!” Lavi grinned mischievously, not giving them time to respond before he pulled out a 6 pack of  Asahi super dry from behind his back, clinking the bottles together as he held them in the air.

“Were you hiding those in your backpack all day?” Kanda shot him an irritated look and Lavi just nodded, seeing no problem with that whatsoever.

“Oh nice, Lavi!” Lenalee clapped, deciding to screw the man. Even though she usually prided herself on being a good, law abiding citizen, she figured fuck it! It was summer and the school was empty. No one was going to bust them for underage drinking on campus, and if someone did, then they’d just book it the hell out of there. _‘When in doubt, run for your life.'_ That’s what Komui always said, along with, _‘If they do end up catching you, however, remember to just deny, deny, deny. Oh and ask for a __lawyer!__’_

“Sweet, lemme get one of those.” Red reached out for a bottle only for Kanda to grab the same exact one he was going for and snatching it for himself. Red twitched in annoyance as his dark haired friend drank it in its entirety, paying Red's growing frustration no mind. 

“One of these days Kanda..” Red mumbled under his breath before grabbing his own bottle and sitting back down next to Lenalee who giggled at the display.

“So we gonna light these little fuckers or what?” Red grumbled as he played with the packaging on one of the firecrackers. It was warped in a bright orange wrapping with a little green cartoon dragon on the front, blowing smoke and flowers from its nostrils. 

“Yeah pass me the lighter Yuu-chan.” Lavi asked, voice serious before quickly ducking out of the way of a hard kick from Kanda.

“Don’t fucking call me that, dip-shit.” He spit and Lavi backed away in defense, using Lenalee as a shield as she grabbed the lighter from Kanda. 

“Okay which one do you guys wanna light up first?” Lenalee looked towards the group, and of course she didn’t get much from them. Kanda looked like he couldn’t care less and Lavi just shrugged, chugging another beer.

“Let’s light them all at once.” Red supplied, and had somehow taken the lighter from her, and before Lenalee could stop him, he set the whole thing aflame.

“No Red- fuck! Back away!” Lenalee shouted, scrambling to her feet and they all rushed back to get out of the way before the things started snapping and cracking up into the air. 

Lavi clapped Red on the back for a job well done, and Kanda shared his thoughts on the matter in the form of an insult. Lenalee on the other hand was still trying to catch her breath, and then the real show began. The group watched as the bundles of packages exploded and the firecrackers whistled up into the air, blasting open into vibrant sparks of yellows and reds. The sparks sprinkled a few feet up into the night sky, spreading like blooming flowers as they painted the air into a garden of light. There were smaller blue ones that trickled down shortly after the big burst, as well as purples and greens that followed close behind. The sight was mesmerizing and they all watched in silence as the colors slowly began to fizzle out. Soon enough the once colorful sky was now back to its dark and absent black.

“Woah...” 

“Holy fuck.”

“Well shit.. that was cooler than I thought it would be…” Red whistled. “To be quite fuckin’ honest I was expectin’ some kinda shit show to go down but that- that was pretty cool.” Red admitted and he stood up to kick the remains of the firecrackers, checking to see if it really was finished off.

“If you were expecting the worst then why did you- ah you know what, I’m not even gonna ask.” Lenalee sighed, but either way, it had been beautiful. Too bad though that those were all of the firecrackers that they’d brought. Now all they had left were a few sparklers and a bag of those pop-it things that cracked when you chucked them at stuff. That gave Lenalee an idea. As those three idiots friends of hers were dealing with the firecracker aftermath, she sneakily took the bag of pop-its from her bag and prepared for a kamikaze attack. 

Taking a fist full of pop-its in one hand, she aimed for her target before chucking the little bags of explosives right at Lavi’s back. The packages burst on contact with their target and Lavi yelped as he was berated by the small cracks against his shirt.

“Jesus what the hell! Lenalee?! Ouch, you bully!” Lavi looked betrayed and Lenalee couldn’t stop laughing at the expression on his face as he pretended he was just fatally injured, clutching his chest and falling to the ground dramatically. 

“Yay he’s dead!” Red nudged Lavi with his shoe before kneeling down to search for his wallet.

“Oi cut it!” Lavi resurrected, slapping Red’s greedy hands away before dusting himself off. “This means war, Lenalee.” And soon enough the group were teamed up against one another and attacking anything that moved with pop-its. 

When the group ran out pop-its to harass one another with, it was already past 11:00pm so the gang figured they'd pack up and head home for the night. 

“Good luck dealing with Komui, Lenalady.” Lavi sent her a cheeky grin and she sighed just thinking about the fit her brother was going to be in when she showed up so late past curfew.

“I can handle the fuckin’ siscon for ya, Lena.” Red gave her a reassuring thumbs up and she just shook her head.

“No it’s cool, I can handle him. He just freaks out for no reason at all it’s so lame.” She pouted before spinning on her heel. “We’re all still on for Wednesday though, right? We’re going to see the midnight showing of ‘The Dead Don’t Die,’ remember, so you guys better not be late!”

“Yeah for sure, we wouldn’t miss that shit for the world!” Lavi grinned and Red agreed. Kanda just scoffed but they knew to take that as a yes. They said their goodbyes before the group had to go their separate ways and Red went the opposite direction as the rest of them since his apartment was on the other side of the city.

The sky was dark as Red walked alone on the sidewalk, passing by the tall cherry blossom trees that lined the school grounds and swayed in the warm night air. He shoved his hands into his pockets, and brushed against his i-pod resting in his pocket. He pulled it out and untangled his headphones before shoving them into his ears. He shuffled through a few songs before landing on one that Lavi had gotten him to listen to, and pressed play. He exhaled in content before looking straight ahead. 

In all honesty, he felt good. Life was going great and he was eager for the upcoming opportunities and possibilities that this summer would bring. Together with his friends, they’d get to do so much. They could try some new food, go to the beach or peruse the night life, maybe even start a band, the possibilities were endless. They were young and didn’t have to worry about anything other than living their lives, so that was exactly what they’d do. And since Red lived alone, he was glad he had friends to keep him company. As much as he’d hate to admit it, he really did cherish them. His life would be so lonely without those idiots. He could trust them with anything.

The busy noises of night life on the street soon faded away as Red grew closer toward his apartment complex. It was in a more suburban area, and a bit farther away than where all his friends lived, but the rent was cheap and it was substantial enough for a 17 year old boy to live in. That reminded him, he had to pay his rent soon unless he wanted to be homeless. He figured he’d add finding another job to his list of priorities this summer too. Working would suck, but it was just something that had to be done. 

He kicked a rock on the ground and watched as it skipped ahead a few feet.

As he continued walking, tapping his fingers against his leg to the beat in his ears, he didn’t notice how unusually quiet it became. The air had stilled and no distant sounds of dogs barking or cars screeching against the gravel roads could be heard. 

Red passed underneath a tree, distracted by the song in his head that he also didn’t catch the sound of someone dropping from the same tree, just as he’d passed beneath it. And Red certainly didn’t hear the sound of footsteps drawing closer as he continued to walk ahead.

He could see his apartment complex in the distance, but suddenly stopped when the song playing through his headphones became muffled with static. The incessant scribbling noise in his head shocked him, and he ripped the headphones from his ears.  _ Well that was strange.. _

Confused, Red pulled his ipod from his pocket, checking to see if he’d broken it somehow, and was puzzled to find it still intact. He furrowed his brow in confusion before swearing under his breath.

“Cheap shit don’t die on me now.” 

He groaned when the static continued, and he almost wanted to throw the damn thing on the ground for ruining his peaceful moment, when suddenly the warm air turned cold around him. Red felt a shiver go up his spine at the sudden drop in temperature. When he exhaled, he could see his breath as it clouded up into the air in front of him, causing him to step back in shock.

It suddenly felt like someone was watching him and he spun around quickly, prepared to fight, only to be met with nothing. Just the same empty street as before. 

Red released the breath he was holding.  _ Jeez was one of his friends playing a prank on him or something?  _

“Oi what the hell! Who’s spyin’ on me like some fuckin' perv?! Lavi is that you?”

Red was almost expecting to see the red head emerge from behind that tree with his arms up and a goofy expression on his face, saying something along the lines of “Hey just getting you prepared for the horror movie! You always gotta be prepared for jump scares, you know!” but instead he was met with silence. An eerily silence that hung in the air, so thick that if he reached his hand up, he could physically grab ahold of it.

_ God what was even saying. _ Red shook his head and scoffed for being such a wimp. Obviously there was no one following him and he was just being paranoid. He kicked at the ground in frustration, almost feeling embarrassed for getting so worked up about nothing, but when he turned back around, he ran right into the chest of a stranger, hard. 

“Ack Jesus what the fuck man!” Red blurted on instinct, having already felt tense and embarrassed before, as he tried to back away from the stranger. As soon as he pulled away, the stranger wrapped their arms around him tighter, forcing him against his chest and refusing to let go. 

Red froze. He couldn’t fucking move and being resistricted by this complete stranger was freaking him out. 

“Hey man, seriously let me the fuck go before I punch your goddamn teeth in, you pervert!” Red tried to squirm his way out of his hold, but to no avail, he couldn’t move an inch. He still tried anyway, ignoring the way his heart was thumping against his chest as the stranger laughed quietly, sending vibrations throughout his entire body. 

Red’s eyes widened and he stilled as the man leaned in to whisper into his ear. 

“Why hello there, young man~” He purred, voice dark and mischievous. “Mmmm,” he inhaled deeply, making the hair on the back of Red’s neck stand up at such close proximity, “You smell... quite delicious.” 

_Delicious?_ _What a weird fucking adjective to use..._ Red was getting annoyed and his racing heart wasn’t helping as the man gripped tighter against him. Red widened his eyes at the sudden strength as pain shot through his spine. It felt like he was being suffocated by how close he was pressed up against this guy. _God Red hated hugs and this just felt disgusting._ It was almost violating how touchy this dude was. _Jesus he hoped this dude wasn’t about to kill him and rape his corpse or something sick like that._

The man was giving off a weird aura too, and for a second Red felt like he could physically see it surrounding them. It was a dark purple color, almost blending in with that of the sky, and was making it hard for Red to even think straight. He felt his blood run cold, as the man continued to whisper in his ear. 

“Shh don’t be afraid, young one.” He smiled as his grip tightened around the boy, nearly choking him by how hard he was pressing against his bones. He waited to hear the crack and his grin widened with pleasure when the boy choked. “Everything will be better once I get a taste. Oh please, will you let me take a bite of you?” 

“What the fu-” Red tried to retort, but suddenly the man had his teeth sinking deep into the side of his neck. Red gasped in shock as the man began sucking the blood from his body.

Pain coursed throughout his body as he tried to squirm away, doing anything he could to just will his body to move and push the man away. No matter what he did, nothing worked and he started to feel really strange. Either it was the weird aura or the fact that he was losing blood so quickly, but he felt like he was increasingly getting weaker and weaker until he was barely even able to see straight. The street light in front of him curved and tilted before his very eyes as he struggled to remain conscious.

His movements became sluggish and he made one last attempt to break free as he felt the blood being drained from his body. His heart was beating in his head as his mind began to race.  _ ‘Is this how i die? Jesus what the fuck? Is this really happening? No, fuck! I can't die. I can’t die when summer just fucking started! This is bullshit!’ _

He had to stay awake. He had to fight back, but the sensation was too much. His body felt heavy and the darkness surrounding him looked really comforting all of a sudden. It beckoned him toward it, urging him to just let go and accept it. To fall deep within its depths and to never resurface again. And though Red had never considered himself a weak person, he found himself reaching for the darkness as his eyes closed and he fell limp in the man’s arms.

When the man finally willed himself to pull away, his golden eyes were sparkling with pleasure as blood dripped from his fangs, reaching all the way down to his chin. He stared ahead before gasping in elation, dropping the boy to the ground as he hugged his arms to his chest.

“Ahhh that was simply delectable!” He blushed as he traced his finger across his fangs. Relishing in the taste of copper coating his lips and soaking his shirt. There was nothing better in this world than a good drink, and the man was soon reminded of the boy he’d just killed as he looked down at his previous meal. 

“Oh my,” He exclaimed, feigning surprise, and he kneeled down on the ground before him, “Well I guess I went a bit overboard, didn’t I?” He chuckled and poked the kid’s forehead, as he lay there unmoving. The man tsked when he checked the boy’s pulse and found nothing. 

“Oops! Honestly kid, I didn't mean to kill you. You just looked so.. so.. just so  _ fucking-- _ ” He cut himself off before he tried to dive in and finish off any last drops that he may have missed. “Well it can’t be helped then!~” He stood up and dusted his hands together before straightened himself up so he wouldn’t do something reckless again. 

Since the deed was already done, there was no point in fretting over it. He simply had to get rid of the evidence. Rolling up his sleeves, the man bent down and dragged the boy’s body into a small alleyway nearby. There were a few trash cans lining the walls where he could dump him by, figuring that’d be good enough until someone finds him when they take out the trash tomorrow morning. And by then, the man would be long gone from here, with any evidence of himself having even been here, erased. 

The man spared the boy one last look and made a show of tipping his imaginary hat towards him in respect. 

“It really is a shame that such a cute and feisty young man like you had to die, but thank you ever so much for the delicious blood~ You’re service will not go to waste, I assure you.” He saluted the corpse before grinning and turning around. “Well goodbye then dead child!” He waved to the body before whistling and rubbing his belly as he walked out of the alley, feeling full and content. 

  
  



	2. Dead! - My Chemical Romance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No one had seen Red since the night after their 'end of the school year' celebration (July 19th). His friends decide to search for him at his apartment (July 23rd). Red finds himself in a strange situation (July 20th-July 26th).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From now on I’ll be referring to Red as Allen since now he looks, and will act like, cinnamon roll gentleman baby Allen from canon. His friends are still going to call him Red though, at least for a while before they realize that the nickname doesn’t really apply anymore. And if you’re confused about anything, don’t worry I’ll probably explain it in upcoming chapters. No spoilers!!! (Also did anyone catch my grey’s anatomy reference :p lol writing medically is hard when you’re not a nursing major so I took some inspo from greys, sue me!)
> 
> As far as how uploads will go in the future, I’m curious if I should just schedule to upload once every week so I can get ahead with the writing and so it’s consistent (like every thursday at 5:00est for example), or if I should just upload new chapters as soon as I get time to finish them…? Let me know in the comments which you’d prefer lol. or if you don't care either way that's cool too I respect that.
> 
> Anyways, enjoy! This chapter is ~long~ so sorry if there's any typos I missed.

**2 Dead! - My Chemical Romance**

Red had been missing for 1 week.

It had been 1 week now and his friends were seriously worried. They hadn’t seen or heard from him since the last day of school. Red had never showed up to the movie theater either, and no matter how much they texted and called, he didn’t answer. Though Red was never really the best at responding quickly to texts in the past, it still wasn’t like him to just flat out leave them in the dark on his whereabouts. 

Red lived alone too, so there was no one they could contact to find out where he could have gone either. Their only option was to talk to his landlord, but the only “information” she was willing to tell them was that if he was late on his rent again, then she was going to start tossing his stuff out the window.

Three days after he’d gone missing, Lenalee, Lavi, and Kanda decided to visit his apartment. If he wasn’t going to answer their texts, then they’d just have to take matters into their own hands. Lenalee kept texting him even as they walked to his place. 

  
  


**July 23** **rd** ** 11:03 AM**

< Messages** Red(｀ε´)♡** Details

[  _ 5 missed calls _ ]

**Lena:** _Allen Walker! God I feel like I’m your mother.. ANSWER YOUR PHONE! Seriously Allen I swear if you’re actually in your apartment right now, I am going to kick you in the head so hard that your brain bleeds!!__ヽ(*｀Д´)ﾉ_

  
  


Lenalee sighed in frustration and she held her phone to her ear. It felt like she was going insane listening to the mindless dial tone ringing over and over again, never getting picked up.

[  _ 1 missed call _ ]

**Lena:** _I’m just worried ok .. We all are. _

_ Please be okay. We’re at your apartment. _

The trio walked up the stairs until they reached unit 204. Kanda knocked loudly against the metal door a few times and they waited for a few moments, hoping to hear it squeak open and see their friend standing before them, but after a couple minutes went by and nothing came, Lenalee let her shoulders sag. 

Kanda grit his teeth in annoyance and knocked again, louder this time. “Oi! Answer the damn door you stupid fucking Moyashi!” 

“..Kanda stop.” Lenalee sighed, “He’s not in there.”

Hating the tense atmosphere, Lavi did what he did best. He tried to bring up the morale. “Oh come on guys he’s probably just hiding in there! Kanda’s being too scary, so how about I just go climb up the back and sneak in. I can force the guy out in no time!” He grinned widely and Lenalee gave a weak smile back. She was really worried.

“Don’t worry,” Lavi reassured, “I’ve got this!” He shot them a quick thumbs before jogging back down the stairs. Kanda scoffed and leaned his back against the railing.

“This is a stupid idea.” He groaned and Lenalee shook her head. 

“I know it’s wrong to break in, but we have to try everything, Kanda. He could still be in there.”

“Whatever.” Kanda scoffed and Lenalee sat down against the railing, pulling out her cellphone to occupy her while Lavi tried to break in.

Lavi jogged through the garden area and turned the corner until he reached the fenced in backside of the complex. Since Allen was in room 204, he’d have to climb to the second story of apartments and enter through the fourth balcony from the right.  _ God _ _ he hoped the window was open._

Spitting into both of his palms, he rubbed his hands together and stretched beforing eyeing his first place to climb. The apartment complex was built in a rectangular shape and there were 2 floors of units stacked on top of one another. From the back of the building, he could hoist himself over the ac box and jump across toward the balcony closest to the wall. It would be unit 201 so once he got up there, he would just need to balance himself on the ledge and jump into each balcony box until he got to 204. 

Taking a deep breath, Lavi climbed up the ac unit, balancing himself against the wall as he looked up at the nearest balcony. If he stretched both his arms up, he still wasn’t quite able to reach the balcony, so he looked around for something else to guide him. There was a tree branch with a clothing line attached to it that hung from the second balcony, and Lavi figured if he climbed up the tree, then he could shimmy his way across the branch and jump from the clothing line to the balcony. He was by no means a trapeze artist, but he’d do the best he could with what he could manage. So Lavi began climbing up the tree. Now this was the easy part since he was no stranger to climbing trees in the past. It annoyed his grandfather to no end when he’d sit at the very top at what he called ‘the best spot,’ or what his gramps would refer to as, ‘the dangerous spot’. Either way, Lavi liked trees. They were fun to climb.

Once he’d made it to the branch connected to the clothing line, he eyeballed the distance he’d need to shift to in order to safety grab onto the balcony railing. He was going to have to jump a good couple of feet in order to make this work, so he dusted his hands off one last time in order to prepare his grip. If Red was in there or not, he had to at least try. He couldn’t let Lenalee down. Exhaling, Lavi slowly shimmied his way across the branch, being careful not to lose his footing as he held onto the branch for support. When he made it to the end, the branch was just bending enough that he felt confident it wouldn’t snap beneath him. Slowly standing up, he balanced himself forward and leaped from the branch. He had jumped a few feet ahead and grabbed ahold of the top of the balcony quickly as his feet struggled to find a grip on the small space of wall that was available. Eventually he managed to pull himself up and climbed over the railing until he was safely within the balcony, and he stopped for a minute to catch his breath. 

He cheered in excitement, clapping his hands together before standing up again. This was a peace of cake! 

He tightened his grip on the railing and figured if he just climbed to the outer side and stretched across, he’d be able to grab ahold of the third balcony with his right hand and keep going from there.

Doing just that, he climbed over to the other side and dangled his foot across the distance until he felt grounded enough, and reached across with his right hand before swinging the rest of his body with him. He repeated this another time until he was standing on balcony 204.

There was a sliding glass door covered by a curtain so he couldn’t exactly see through the window, and he cursed when he pulled the handle and it didn’t budge. Well he'd already gotten this far so there was no turning back now. He kneeled down to where the lock was and felt around the area to see if there was a hidden latch somewhere that he needed to flip in order to unlock it. When that was a bust, he stood up and looked toward the top of the door to see if there was another latch that he was missing somewhere. He stretched on his tiptoes and felt above the top of the door frame, mentally cheering when he felt something. He wasn’t sure if he needed to push it in or pull it upward, but he messed around with the latch for a bit until he felt it give, and he heard a popping noise at the base of the handle. Kneeling back down again, he was able to push the lock and turn it so that the door would open.

“Fuck yeah that’s what I’m talking about!” He praised himself quietly before carefully sliding the glass door open, pulling the curtain to the side as he stepped through. Once inside he slid the door closed behind him and looked around. The apartment was dark and he turned on a nearby light in order to accurately see where he was going. It took a few seconds before flickering to life, and Lavi found himself standing in the kitchenette area. The room was a bit messy, dishes still left in the sink and school books scattered across the table, though Lavi wasn’t too surprised by it. He’d been to Red’s apartment many times before to know that the guy was kind of a slob. 

He made his way over to the bedroom area, figuring if he were anywhere, Red would be here, but when he walked in he found it to be empty. The sheets on the bed were never made and the floor was covered in random piles of clothes and cds. Lavi pouted and walked over to the nightstand in search for clues. He figured maybe Red had left them a note or something. 

Unfortunately Lavi’s searching got cut short when someone viciously knocked against the front door and he jumped suddenly, having forgotten all about his friends waiting outside. 

He sighed and figured he’d let 'the beast' in before he actually did end up breaking the door down, and he made his way over to the door. 

“What is the password good sir?” He called through the mail slot, just narrowly avoiding Kanda’s shoe attempting to make contact with his face. “Jesus learn how to take a joke, Kanda!” He grumbled before unlocking the door for his friends.

“Took you long enough.” Kanda grumbled and shoved past Lavi who was bowing and waving as if welcoming them into his own house. 

Lenalee put her phone back into her pocket as she walked in. “You find anything Lavi?” she asked as she began looking around. There was a coat closet near the entrance and she figured she’d check there, just in case.

“Not really. I was hoping he’d left a note or something but I couldn’t find anything like that.” Lavi walked past her into the bedroom where Kanda was just opening various compartments, not caring about privacy. 

Lenalee frowned, finding nothing near the entrance way, and she made her way over to the bathroom that was next to the kitchen. The door was closed and she pushed it open with ease, flicking the light on and ducking her head around the small room. Nope, no luck here either. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and tried to force a smile on her face. It just felt phony and she sighed before turning the light off and joining her friends in the bedroom.

“Find anything?” Lavi asked and Lenalee just shook her head.

“Danngg this is so depressing.” Lavi whined and sat down on Red’s bed. “If he’s not here then where else could he be?” The question hung in the air for a minute as Lenalee really thought it over. 

_ That’s it!  _ If he wasn’t here, then they’d just have to check each of their regular hangout spots. If Red was going to run off somewhere he might choose somewhere familiar. 

“I have an idea.” Lavi sat up to look at her curiously and Kanda stopped throwing shit all over the place to listen as well. “Well if Red isn’t here, he might be hiding out at one of our hang out spots. It’s worth a shot right? I mean he wouldn’t just run off somewhere random, it’s not like him. And I guess if that doesn't work, we can go to the police..”

* * *

**July 20th**

Silver eyes shot open, staring upward at the white ceiling. His eyesight was blurry and his head was killing him. He felt groggy and everything hurt, especially his neck, his teeth, and his eyes. 

_ Fuck. _ He squeezed his eyes shut again when focusing hurt too much. He tried again a few seconds later, opening his eyes slower this time so that they could adjust to the brightness of the room. 

He struggled to make out his surroundings, having trouble getting his eyes to focus clearly enough. He also couldn’t remember how he even ended up in a place like this. To add to the list, his throat felt like it was on fire and he tried to speak up in case anyone was in the room with him, but no sound came out. He stared back up at the ceiling in frustration, still finding it hard to focus his eyes on anything. His body felt really weird.

What he did know, though, was that he was laying down on a bed and when he turned his head slightly, he could see a monitor was hooked up to his arm. He wasn’t sure why the thing was even attached to him in the first place since it made no noise at all. He wondered if the machine was broken.

His arms were wrapped in tight white bandages all the way up to his elbow and when he tried to move his fingers, he found himself unable to do so. Without freaking himself out, he took a deep breath trying to ignore an odd tingling feeling he felt slowly growing on his right leg. It had been bothering him for quite a bit, but he couldn’t lift his head enough to see what the cause of discomfort was. Instead he was forced to just lay there as the tingling began to spread up to his thigh before turning into a pinching, almost burning sensation. And then it got worse. _Jesus_ _it felt like his leg was burning_. He turned his head in pain and winced against the harsh sunlight that was streaming in through the open window on his right. 

Not only was the sunlight aggravating his eyes for some reason, but god it felt like someone was scorching his leg with a flame thrower and he could do nothing to prevent it.

All of this was making him feel lightheaded, but he had to do something to get rid of this burning sensation. Slowly he managed to lift his head a few inches off of the pillow, but it was short lived as it just fell back down and rendered him trying to catch his breath at such a small movement.  _ Why did he feel so weak? _ He tried to remember what had happened but came up short, and his leg was still burning. Either he was over exaggerating or imagining something, but he could swear that he smelled his flesh burning. 

Wait a minute.. _Flesh burning. In the sunlight.. A strange man with dark skin and golden eyes… a sharp pain in his neck and .. blood._ His head pulsed violently and he winced against the sudden pain. But he was getting somewhere, slowly putting the pieces together. 

_ Last night there was a man. He’d… killed him. He had died last night when that stranger…  _ His head pulsed again in protest but he fought through it.  _ When that stranger.. bit him.  _

Red’s eyes widened at the realization and he shot up from the bed, paying no mind to his injuries as he pulled his leg away from the sunlight. He looked down in horror to find that the flesh on his right leg was charred and burnt. The pain was almost unbearable and he pulled his attention away to glare at the window. That was the cause of his additional pain. 

Ripping the stupid cord from his arm, Red slowly swung his legs off the side of the bed before trying to stand. He had to steady himself against the bed frame, but he managed to take a few steps, ignoring the way his neck pulsed in protest. Slowly he shuffled his way to the end of the bed, trying to avoid the sunlight as much as possible but did a shit job as it shone against his back now. He grit his teeth in determination and let go of the bed frame, using only his own willpower to balance himself on his two feet. He had to practically drag his injured leg behind him as he slowly made his way toward the window. The sun was shining against his entire front side now, but he pushed through it because he was so close. Just a few more steps and he could close the stupid window.

Suddenly a huge wave of pain from his neck coursed throughout his whole body and he grunted, kneeling to the ground as he coughed onto the floor. His chest hurt and his whole body felt like it was burning against the sunlight. 

He couldn’t fight against the sudden waves of pain that attacked his body, and he soon collapsed onto the cold tile floor.

He was found by a nurse 10 minutes later and she gasped, quickly calling for help after discovering him unconscious on the floor. A doctor noticed the new burns right away, and he immediately ordered one of the interns to close the window and pull the curtains closed as they helped the patient back onto the bed. 

“The patient has new burns on the outer layer of his skin, as well as major third degrees on his right leg. Given the state we found him, can someone explain what may have caused these abrasions to form so suddenly?” 

A few hands shot up to answer but the doctor chose to call on the woman who was staring at the patient. “You, tell me your theory.” 

The woman jumped slightly, surprised at having been called on, and pulled her eyes away from the patient to look at her superior. She was panicking a bit at the sudden spotlight, and swallowed firmly before relaying the facts in her head.

“Um well the burns must be a d-direct cause of his skin’s contact with the sun. Though it is odd for it to reach such an intensity as third degree in such a short time..” She paused, thinking of all the potential medical possibilities in her head. At first glance this John Doe seemed like a walking enigma, but there was always an explanation for everything, so she collected her thoughts before choosing the most reasonable explanation. “Um therefore I believe the patient must have some sort of sensitive skin condition, uh- perhaps a severe case of Lupus or maybe even  Xeroderma , which could explain why his skin blistered and burned so easily when in direct contact with the sunlight that was coming in from the open window.”

The doctor nodded. “Good. And remind me, what’s your name again?”

“Ah it’s Miranda. M-Miranda Lotto.” She stuttered out nervously, twiddling her fingers together as she avoided making eye contact with anyone.

“Well then Ms. Lotto, I’ll be putting you in charge of the John Doe then.” He stated firmly, silencing the other interns before they could groan their protests, and then directed his attention toward the nurses. “Please make sure to keep the curtains in this room closed from now on.” 

“Yes sir.” The nurses nodded before the doctor filed out of the room with the rest of the interns to finish the rest of their rounds. Miranda stayed behind to observe her new patient, and she flipped through his chart at the edge of the bed to better familiarize herself with the situation.

His chart read as follows,

**Name:** John Doe / Unknown

**Age:** Unknown

**Date Admitted:** July 20th

**Status:** Severe loss of blood stemming from double puncture wound on left carotid as well as third degree burns to face, upper body, and limbs. John Doe was found unconscious on the scene, pronounced dead since there was no pulse detected upon arrival, but upon transport into the ambulance, a slight reading was detected and he was deemed ‘alive' enough, though pulse was very faint. We will continue to monitor the patient unless something changes.

**Physician in Charge:** _____________

The bottom line was left blank and Miranda pulled a pen from her coat pocket before scribbling down her name. She flipped the chart closed again before placing it back into its compartment as she looked at her patient. He looked young, no older than 18, and she couldn’t help but feel a bit sad for him. He looked like he was in a lot of pain and she wasn’t sure what she needed to do to help him. Her eyes traced over to his arm and she noticed the monitor was no longer in place to track his heart rate so she walked over to fetch the cord from the ground. She sanitized it first before placing it back in its place on his arm. She waited a bit for the monitor to begin beeping, but when no feedback came, she became puzzled. She was reminded back to what she’d read in his chart, and she felt stumped. ‘ _ Pronounced dead since there was no pulse detected upon arrival.’ _ Something just wasn’t adding up here and frankly it made no sense medically. Clearly the boy was still alive since he’d managed to get himself out of bed before, and even though it was faint she could see he was breathing. Or was he? She leaned down closer so that she was within eye level with his stomach and focused really hard on his chest. 

As she was doing so, a nurse walked in with a tray of food, and Miranda jumped back suddenly, acting as if she wasn’t just staring intently at a patient's stomach while they slept.

The nurse gave her a strange look before placing the tray on the bedside table.

“This is for him.. when he wakes up.” 

“O-oh okay great! T-thank you very much.” Miranda bowed slightly, feeling embarrassed all of a sudden and the nurse just nodded before leaving her alone to wallow in her self pity. Miranda was never really a good people person and it was a skill she tried to work on everyday. She knew she came across as a frazzled, panicky woman, but it was just who she was. She couldn’t help it. Hopefully figuring out how to treat this patient would give her the confidence boost she needed, and with a new resolve in her eyes, she decided to let the patient rest before checking in again later. She had to check in on other patients in the meantime.

He woke up 6 days later. 

* * *

**July 26th**

His body had fallen into a comatose-like state in order to heal his wounds since he still had to get used to his foreign body and all of the ‘effects’ that came with it. 

Miranda had been sitting in a chair near his bedside, idly munching on an apple and flipping through a few of her other patient charts. One of them was for a young girl who had been experiencing an odd series of grand mal seizures, and though she appeared to be relatively healthy, even participating in a few athletic activities, she kept having seizures with no known cause. It was troubling to say the least, and she was trying to think of any possible solutions on what could be causing them, when suddenly her John Doe moved. 

She stopped chewing as she watched his bed and a few seconds later, his eyes opened. Startled, Miranda stood up suddenly.  _ Oh my god, oh my god, he’s alive!  _ She thought, bracing herself on whether or not she should be assisting her patient or rushing off to get the doctor. She panicked and decided to just get a more certified professional in here first, and with that she rushed out of the small room, tossing her half finished apple into a nearby trash can as she sped down the hall in search of her attending.

Allen slowly adjusted to the white lights in the room, feeling really disoriented.  _ Where was he again?  _

His mouth felt really dry but his body didn’t hurt as much as before.  _ How much time had even passed? _ He felt hungry. 

He stretched his arms and sighed in relief because he was actually able to move this time. He was plugged into that stupid monitor again though, and ripped the thing off as it clearly didn’t do anything for him so he wasn’t sure why they insisted on leaving it on in the first place. Still, Allen sat himself up in the bed as he looked around the room. It was empty and Allen wasn’t sure what to do. All he knew was that his stomach was growling and he wanted to leave. Getting some food would be great. He could eat so much. His mouth watered just thinking about all the delicious food he could eat. Like dango! Ooh and yakitori and soba noodles and gyoza and dorayaki and mochi and taiyaki! Mmm, he bet he could eat at least 50 of each of those right about now! 

Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he prepared himself to get up to search for something to eat, only to be stopped by a frantic woman rushing in along with a few doctors and random people in white coats.

“Stop! D-don’t move you’re still injured!” She was moving her arms around like crazy trying to get him to sit back though she never made a move to actually touch him, so he kind of just sat there unsure of what to do before the doctor spoke up.

“Ah welcome back to the land of the living, young man. How are you feeling?”

Allen panicked for a second.  _ Wait- does this guy know something? Did he know that he died… wait was he still dead? _ He didn’t actively feel like he had to breathe or anything, and he went to put a hand on his chest to see if he could feel his heartbeat or something, and he widened his eyes when he felt nothing.  _ Oh my god. His heart wasn’t beating?!  _

Miranda saw the panic in his eyes, a familiar thing in her own eyes, and she was instantly trying to help. “Are you experiencing any discomfort sir? Is your heart hurting? What’s wrong?!” 

Allen was still struggling with the inner turmoil occuring in his mind as he tried to process his current situation.  _Wait but he’s hungry.. If he was dead he wouldn’t be hungry right? So he wasn’t dead then.. Maybe he just couldn’t feel his heartbeat because it was just too hard to tell through this weird hospital gown. He wasn’t a doctor so maybe he just did something wrong.. Sure that made sense! He wasn’t dead. That would be silly.._

Sighing in relief Allen finally zeroed in on the doctor who’d been trying to get his attention for the past minute.

“Sir? Can you hear me?”

Allen was going to answer, but then he remembered how well speaking had turned out last time and he felt that the bandage on his neck was still there, so he chose to just nod instead. Inspecting closer he still had bandages on his arms and legs too. He honestly felt like a mummy and he was sure he didn’t need them anymore considering he felt fine.

“Alright well I’m going to go ahead and debrief you on the current situation so you can better understand the events leading up until now and understand how you got here, okay?” 

Allen nodded. 

“Great.” The doctor moved to the front of the bed and grabbed the patient chart before skimming the attached documents. “You were found early in the morning on July 20th by an older woman. You had severe burns on your skin as well as major blood loss due to a neck injury, and you’d been unconscious for.. 6 days.”

Allen choked.  _ 6 days?! 6 whole days!? _

The doctor continued, “You had little to no heartbeat and were in such a state we were unsure if you were even alive-- yet here you are. We continued to monitor you regardless incase there were any changes. To be honest we weren’t exactly hopeful as your case has simply been an enigma to the medical world. I put you under the care of Ms. Miranda Lotto here and sure enough-.” The doctor reached over to check Allen’s vitals, starting with his pulse, but Allen panicked and pulled his hand away before he could try anything. 

Sure he was hungry which meant he wasn’t dead, but if the doctor found out his pulse was still practically non-existent after 6 whole days, he had a feeling he’d be subjected to a ton of pointless medical tests. So Allen was gonna fight like hell to make sure that didn’t happen.

The doctor sighed as Allen shook his head, moving further away so the doctor couldn’t try again. He knew he was probably acting childish, but this was kind of a life or death situation.  _ Well, he supposed an undead or death situation considering… whatever. _

The doctor instructed a few of the interns to remain in the room to study the patient and attempt to take his vitals since this was indeed a rare case, whether or not the patient would participate or not. 

Once the doctor left, Allen sat up against his pillow as the interns stared at him. It was like they were waiting for him to do something, so Allen stretched. They started jotting down notes intently. Well they sure were hardworking, he’d give them that. But being surrounded by all these people was making it hard for him to focus on anything because he could hear things.. certain noises. The kinds of things and noises that he probably shouldn't be able to hear, like the sound of blood pumping through their bodies as they scribbled onto their clipboards. 

Allen licked his lips nervously as his eyes darted around the room. He just had to focus on something else. Like food! He sure was hoping someone was going to bring him something to eat because for some reason the intern on his left was looking pretty tasty. Allen hit himself in the face for even thinking that thought. It was disgusting. 

“Are you okay?” The panicky woman from before asked and Allen just nodded reaching for a glass of water on the table beside him. He was really thirsty. 

Paying no mind to the bandages on his arms, he chugged the glass in its entirety, ignoring the fussy interns and their scattered comments of, “Ah, sir, please be careful of your wounds-!” “Don’t drink so fast, sir you could choke!” 

In doing so, a small portion of bandage on his right wrist unraveled itself and Miranda saw as the exposed skin underneath had healed completely in that spot. She widened her eyes in amazement.  _ How had his burns healed so soon? It wasn’t possible.. _

Allen sighed in relief after finishing the glass, hoping that would be enough to help with his thirst problem, but of course he still felt thirsty. It was like he was longing for something  _ more _ to quench this newfound thirst of his and water just wasn’t cutting it. 

He flinched when the woman made an attempt to examine the bandage on his wrist. 

“..No!” he whispered, voice still a bit scratchy from lack of use, as he held his wrist to his chest. He couldn’t let this woman see, even if she was just trying to help! 

Miranda widened her eyes at the action and reluctantly pulled away, obeying her patient’s wishes. She was also a bit surprised to finally hear his voice. This was the first time he'd spoken since he’d been emitted. Granted he had been unconscious for the majority of it, but it was still nice to finally hear it. 

Taking matters into her own hands and attempting to be assertive for once, Miranda motioned for the other interns to leave the room while she got to know her patient. “U-uh if it would be alright, could you all please um leave for a moment... I just need to discuss something with my patient.” She hoped that had come across as confident, and she wearily looked up to see the interns leaving. It worked! She could be assertive!

Exhaling in triumph, she pat herself on the back before retrieving the patient chart at the end of the bed. Her hope was to at least try and get some information out of the boy, such as his name, contact info, and if he remembered what had happened to him the night before he was admitted. Since he was against any physical examinations, she’d have to do her best in gaining his trust. So she’d start by stepping out of her comfort zone and attempt to make small talk.

“U-um is that a tattoo..” She pointed to her own left eye trying to figure out the best way to go about asking this, “on your face.. right there?” 

Allen tilted his head in confusion.  _ Tattoo? What was this woman talking about? He definitely didn’t have a tattoo. Was there like dried blood or something on his face making his look weird? _ Allen reached up to touch the skin on his left eye as she had, and made a weak attempt to possibly wipe off whatever she was referring to. He didn’t feel anything on his face so he was lost.

“..Honestly I thought you seemed a bit young to have one.. Ah if you don’t mind me asking, um h-how old are you, sir?” 

Allen cleared his throat before speaking, hoping it would come out better this way. “Seventeen.” 

Miranda scribbled a note on his chart.  _ Ok great she got an answer! Seventeen.. Huh? _ She was right though, he did look young. She assumed he must be a student as well, though there had been no reports of a missing student in the news these past couple of days, so whoever this kid was, she felt like she needed to figure it out soon. 

“Sorry I feel like I should properly introduce myself.” She put down her clipboard before attempting a smile and extended a shaky hand forward. “M-my name is Miranda Lotto.”

Allen looked down at her outstretched hand and then looked up again. “...Allen Walker, but my friends call me Red.” He quickly shook her hand before gesturing toward his hair.

“Oh Red, really? And why’s that?” Miranda asked absent-mindedly, erasing ‘John Doe’ to write ‘Allen Walker’ at the top of his chart.

Allen furrowed his brow. “Oh um because of my hai-” suddenly his stomach growled loudly, and he blushed in embarrassment at the sudden loud noise.

Miranda giggled softly behind her hand. “Wait right here.” she said before rushing out of the door. 

She came back moments later with a tray of food and Allen smiled, excited to finally eat something, but as soon as the smell hit his nostrils, he felt his stomach flip. Miranda placed the tray down in front of him, and Allen felt like he was going to gag. The smell alone was just terrible. _Had the food gone bad or something?_

He turned his head away and covered his mouth with his hand.

“I-is something wrong?” Miranda panicked and Allen just shook his head even though it looked like he was going to be sick. 

He finally pried his hand away from his mouth and looked down at the food. “Um.. does it smell funny to you?” he asked, swallowing hard as the sight alone was making his stomach do somersaults. 

Miranda gave him a strange look before smelling the food closer. “It’s just onigiri.. um do you not like it?” 

“No it’s not that.. I do like it.. Or I  _ did _ like it.. Um I don’t know it just smells different for some reason... Sorry, I must sound ungrateful. Thank you for the food.” He braced himself before picking up one of the rice balls. Taking a deep breath, he took a bite and Miranda tried not to watch too intently, preparing herself to grab a bag if he was going to be sick.

As soon as the rice made contact with his tongue he felt like he was going to gag. Instead, he fought against it, quickly chewing it in his mouth and swallowing as fast as possible. He quickly grabbed the glass of water on the tray and hoped he could use it to mask the taste of the onigiri that sank in his stomach like a brick. 

When he’d managed to get it down, he wearily looked down at the rest of the food. There was no way he was going to eat that.

“You know, I’m not really that hungry.” He lied, handing the tray back to Miranda and she blinked owlishly before taking it. She knew he was lying considering she’d just heard his stomach growl moments before, but she figured she wouldn’t push the subject. Suddenly her pager beeped and she balanced the tray in one hand before retrieving the pager from her coat pocket. It was a code blue message for one of her other patients and Miranda panicked.

“I’ve got to go handle this! Um I-I’ll be back later to check in okay? So um just rest for a while.” She rushed out before quickly collecting herself and running out the door, taking the tray along with her.

Allen sighed and laid down. This was depressing. He was still so hungry yet for some reason he couldn’t even stomach something as flavorless as rice balls. He wrapped his arms around his stomach as it kept growling for sustenance, and stared out into the hallway through the door that Miranda had left open in her haste. He tried to ignore his stomach and watched as people and hospital staff rushed by carrying various medical equipment and clipboards. 

Even though that onigiri was unappetizing, there was something steadily coming down the hallway that smelled  _ delicious _ . Passing by the open door was a woman who was pushing a cart stacked to the top with different types of blood bags. Allen unconsciously licked his lips as the smell wafted into the room before disappearing down the hall once again.

It smelled so  _ good _ \- no! He turned away from the door, eyes wide. Blood wasn’t supposed to smell good-  _ Jesus what was he even thinking right now!  _

But on second thought, Miranda had smelled really good too. The blood that was coursing through her veins sounded like a river of gold running through his ears. If he had only just- _No! Jesus- he couldn’t think about stuff like that!_ God it felt like he was going insane and his stomach growled again just to spite him. 

No, he just had to calm down and take a deep breath, everything would be fine. He was just acting a bit stir crazy from being trapped in this hospital for nearly a week. He just needed to take a minute to collect his thoughts and get himself under control. Everything would be fine. 

Taking a deep breath, Allen removed any temptation by getting up and closing the door to his room. Now that he was really alone, he felt like he could focus better. And in doing so, he realized how much he had to pee, so he figured he’d take care of that first. Thankfully there was a bathroom attached to the room because he honestly didn’t trust himself wandering around the hallways if he had to search for one. 

He avoided looking in the mirror when he walked in, almost too scared of what he’d see if he did look, like maybe he wouldn't be able to recognize himself. 

It was late in the afternoon now, and when he stepped back into the room, he stole a glance toward the window. The curtains were pulled closed, but he figured the light wouldn’t be an issue now that the sun was setting. Carefully, he made his way over to pull back the drapery, and watched as only a small sliver of sun was left peeking from beyond the horizon. Looking outside, he found he wasn’t too high off the ground either, maybe on the second floor if he had to take a guess. 

There were a few benches scattered in front of the hospital grounds where patients and their families could sit together and feed the birds. Big willow trees swayed slightly in the wind and Allen wished he could be outside right now. It looked so relaxing and calm which was what he really needed right now. This whole hospital was making him stressed out and not to mention the fact that he’d literally died a week ago and now food like onigiri made him want to vomit. Oh, and let’s not forget about his sudden obsession with human blood.. 

Allen dragged a hand down his face in frustration. He was a mess. A mess who needed to get the hell out of here. He needed answers and he needed to see his friends again. He wondered what they were doing right now. He hoped they weren’t worrying about him. They were supposed to be having a great summer together and Allen wasn’t going to let this minor hiccup ruin their plans. He was going to break out of here, and soon.

* * *

**July 27th**

The next morning it was a cheerful and sunny day, and Miranda felt good as she walked into work. Not only had she felt like she was making progress with her patient, Allen, but she had also been working on her own confidence issue. Just this morning when she’d been given the wrong order at the breakfast stand outside, she’d stood her ground and asked for her correct order instead of a week ago when she would’ve just sucked it up and eaten the french toast, even if she was allergic to the nutmeg seasoning that was sprinkled on top. 

In any case, she felt good and wanted to try smiling more when greeting her patients. She felt like that would not only help her, but also help make her patients feel more secure when under her care, rather than if she was panicky and all over the place. 

She quickly got changed into her scrubs in the locker room, and decided to pay a visit to Mr. Walker first in order to test out her new smile approach. She also made a quick stop by the cafeteria to retrieve his breakfast. Even though it was kind of a fail last time, she figured maybe he just wasn’t a big onigiri fan. That’s why for today’s meal she was trying something different and if this one didn’t work either, then she’d just keep trying again and again until something finally did work. 

Miranda knocked on his door and waited for a minute before ultimately letting herself in. 

“Sorry if I’m intruding, but I figured you could try eating yakisoba today. Hopefully you're able to stomach it this ti-” Her eyes widened in horror when she looked up to find the bed empty and the window wide open. She dropped the tray of food on the ground and quickly ran over to the window. “Allen?!” She yelled and looked down, hoping she wasn’t going to see his body lying on the pavement. She sighed in relief when she found nothing.  _ Oh thank heavens.. He didn’t jump. _ But that still left one major problem. 

Allen was gone.

  
  



	3. I Sat By The Ocean - Queens of the Stone Age

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Vampire who turned Red is introduced, Neah, along with Road. Allen escapes from the hospital. Road takes an interest.

**3 I Sat By The Ocean - Queens of the Stone Age**

Up in the clouds there sat a manor. 

It was large and located at the top of a hill, overlooking the entire city of tokyo. It was built in a dark victorian style, having been crafted by hand many years ago and was the only building in the area that paid homage to the historical, western architecture. The few buildings within its proximity were now industrialized and remodeled to fit the new technological age of the 21st century. Because of this, the manor’s dark exterior stuck out like a spider lily within a field of daisies.

The wood from which it was built was varnished in a dark purple, almost black color, with accompanying black trims and dark speckled rooftops. Covering the walls were arched windows which led to private balconies, where one could gaze out across the garden below. In addition, there stood two dark, grand mahogany double doors that stretched high from the ground and opened up to the luxurious manor’s foyer. 

Inside, a winding double staircase was the main focal point and in the center of the first landing stood 8 marble busts along with a giant self portrait of the manor’s owner. Chandeliers hung high from every ceiling, and large, arched windows rose high from the ground to cover the walls. 

These windows were rarely used to view the world outside, however, and instead were left closed during the day, always covered by thick, maroon curtains. If they weren’t covered, then the big windows gave way to the view of the rose garden and hedge maze in the large backyard. 

The manor was secluded amongst the trees and overgrowth, though the landscape had still been well manicured throughout the years, and a stunning marble fountain sat in the middle of it all, squirting water from its sculpted center in an ode to Ancient Roman architecture. An angel was placed in the middle and water trickled from its eyes as if it were weeping, and beneath the angel sat a horned beast, climbing it’s way up from the watery surface below her feet.

Neah was sitting in the longue, reading a novel in one hand and swirling a glass of O negative in the other. O negative was his favorite type. Any of the Os really. It was just something about the taste of O blood that got him so excited. His mind wandered back to the boy he’d killed a few days ago. He had type O blood.  _ Very delicious type O blood. _ Just thinking about it made him feel a bit aroused.

A lilting voice sang into the air and interrupted his musing, “You have a fun look on your face.~ What’s got you so hot and bothered, hmm?”

“You sure do have a habit of sneaking up on others, don’t you, Road.” Neah sighed, eyeing his sister from over his book.

She was a young woman with the same ashen skin as him, but appeared more youthful, and at first glance one would think she was a teenager. This of course was far from the truth, as she was really hundreds of years old.

Road grinned widely and dangled her head in front of Neah’s.

“Tell me, brother.~I wanna know all the juicy details.“

Neah was hesitant on closing his book just to appease her. “I just had a good meal is all, nothing special.” He tried to be nonchalant but Road saw right through it.

“You went overboard, didn’t you?” Her eyes were narrow and tempting, and Neah smirked before taking another sip. Blood never tasted as good as it did when you got it directly from the source...

“Fine, if it’ll get you to leave me alone, I'll bite.” 

“So mean, Neah!” Road pouted.

“It was a young boy, a student, a few days ago.” He paused for a minute in thought. “Honestly I hadn’t  _ meant _ to kill him, but there was just something about him. He smelled amazing and I just  _ had _ to drain him whole.”

Road giggled and Neah smirked. “You know how i feel about O types, Road. I know you yourself have a preference for type B.”

“That’s right.~” Road agreed and sat down in the chaise longue opposite to him, swinging her feet in childlike excitement.

“This boy, he was very cute. Quite a little spit-fire too. It was intriguing to say the least.”

Road narrowed her eyes. “Is that right?”

“Well in any case, he’s dead now. There’s no point in wasting breath on the subject any longer.” He finished off the rest of his glass.

Road smiled. “You better be sure he’s  _ dead _ dead, Neah. Or else  _ he _ would need to know about how you lost control and couldn’t clean up your mess properly.” She was testing him with each word spoken, knowing the consequences of his actions if  _ he _ found out. It made Neah’s skin crawl but he wouldn’t let it show.

“I understand. There’s no reason to get  _ him _ involved.” Neah replied nonchalantly and Road stopped swinging her legs to tilt her head, still smiling widely.

“Good.” She stood up from the chair and stretched. “I feel like going out. I wonder where Lero is hiding.~”

As soon as Road had gone, Neah sighed. He had nothing to worry about. He knew that. Yet Road had done what she’d always done best. She’d managed to plant a small seed of doubt within his mind. 

Deciding not to stew over it for too long as it would only made him feel stressed, he decided he’d handle it tomorrow. He just had to make sure that the boy he’d killed that night was really dead, or else he was in some deep shit.

* * *

**July 26th **

A young woman dressed in a long sleeved, dark Victorian, ruffled dress and accompanying black and white striped tights, spun the handle of a pumpkin parasol between his fingers as she walked through the town. The sky was a bit overcast, so the sun wasn’t beating down to harshly, which meant she was able to take some liberty with her parasol use. But even if the sun managed to steal a few pokes at her now porcelain white skin, Road was no stranger to pain, and at times she found it quite exciting. When a stray beam of sunlight pinched the skin on her arm. She giggled softly and continued to skip ahead, ignoring the scattered looks from passerbyers. 

“Missus Road, ack Lero! Where are we going? Lero.” The umbrella spoke when no one was around, and Road took pleasure in twirling the umbrella around until it was screaming at her for getting so dizzy.

“Oh nowhere,” Road giggled and Lero sweat dropped. “Relax, Lero. We’re going somewhere fun.~” She began twirling the umbrella again as she skipped through the city.

Her destination was a little neighbourhood a few blocks from here. She knew where Neah’s hunting grounds were, so she had a feeling where his latest prey had been from. He always did like the young ones.  _ Especially the boys.  _

Road’s smile widened when she’d made it out of the city, and she found herself standing in a quaint neighbourhood. The sun was beating down pretty brutally but she paid it no mind as she twirled Lero. 

She began to walk down the narrow street, her shoes clicking against the concrete in rhythm as she eyed the different houses and apartment complexes. “Hmm I wonder…” Road thought aloud as she happened past an alleyway. There were trash cans lining the walkway and peeking out from one of them, she noticed something yellow and glossy. She tilted her head to the side to read what was printed along it, and she grinned at the realization. It was caution tape. 

‘ACTIVE CRIME SCENE, DO NOT CR-’ the rest had been obstructed by the lid of the trashcan and Road grinned at the way Lero shivered.

“M-miss Road? Lero. What are we doing here? Lero.”

Road ignored the umbrella and took a few steps backward. She smelled a faint trace of blood and she inhaled deeply, licking her lips before kneeling down toward the ground. It was hardly even a drop but she saw a small crimson stain against the gray cement. 

“How fascinating.” Road rubbed at the spot with her gloved hand and grinned. “Oh brother, just you wait until  _ he _ finds out about this.” She giggled and Lero knew that laugh meant trouble and chose to remain silent, trembling in Road’s tight hold.

Suddenly Road’s ears picked up the sound of a door opening at the apartment complex a few feet away and she looked up to see a group of 3 teenagers making their way down the staircase. She stood up and listened in on what they were discussing. 

_ “Such a fucking waste why do we keep checking here? It’s painfully obvious that that idiot isn’t here.” _ A grumpy looking one walked with his arms crossed and Road narrowed her eyes. 

The female one pushed him playfully before sighing deeply, she was holding something in her hands as well, some sort of fabric.  _ “You never know.. Anyway that was our last try. We can’t keep coming back here.. It kinda makes me depressed hah.”  _ She admitted and the third boy, a red head, quickly threw his hands up.  _ “Hey come on guys we aren’t givin’ up yet, got it! Come on let’s go get some food and we’ll look around town some more after. I'm fucking starving!” _

Road stopped listening when they got closer, and she watched them walk out of the complex before stopping to stand at the entrance as the red haired one had to tie his shoe.

_ Well they could be useful. _ Road thought and grinned, deciding to make her presence known as she approached the trio, much to Lero’s dismay. 

She stopped in the middle of the gravel pathway and cleared her throat in order to get their attention.

“Hey you guys.” She called blunty, and the group looked over toward the new voice. “Yeah you three. I have a question for you.” She grinned and twirling Lero around with her hands.

“What the-?” The one with long hair grumbled under his breath a bit and the other two had strange looks on their faces. The redhead in particular looked like an idiot.

  
Road smirked and spun around so they could get a better look at her outfit. Sheryl had spent so long making it for her so she’d might as well show it off. 

“Now answer me, humans. Have you seen a cute boy, hmm maybe this tall-,” She stretched her hand upwards a bit to indicate how tall she imagined the boy to be considering she never did see him. She’d only smelt his blood residually through Neah that night. She continued, voice playful. “-who  _ died _ a few days ago, around here somewhere?” She grinned widely, adding emphasis to the word ‘died’ just to see if she could get them squirm. And squirm they did.

The red head was the first to blurt something out. “Uhh no what the fuck??- We’re looking for our friend, though it looks like he's not here again.. but he's not dead! ..Well at least we don't  _ think _ he's dead..” The boy rambled and Road tilted her head in fascination, still smiling. “Also, how could you be looking for a dead person, that makes no sense. You can’t really look for something that’s dead. I mean clearly you’re trying to, but I’m just sayin’ it sounds a bit weir-” 

“Idiot, shut the hell up!” The grumpy one whacked the other one in the head and Road narrowed her eyes as the girl spoke up.

“Um no, sorry. We can’t help you.” Her voice was calmer than Road has anticipated but she could tell her words had shaken her a bit. Though she had to give it to the girl, she hid it well. 

“Come on guys, let’s go.” The girl smiled to her friends and ushered them away as Road smiled, waving at them and ignoring the icy hot glare she was receiving from the grumpy one. 

When they were nearly out of sight, Road glanced back up towards the apartment complex from which they had left from. She didn’t know which door they’d come from exactly, but she'd figure that out when she came back. She had only come now to collect information, since she had some  _ business _ to attend tonight with  _ him  _ that couldn’t be postponed.

“Tomorrow then Lero.” Road grinned, looking at the building one more time before glancing upward toward the pumpkin that was perched atop the umbrella. “I have a feeling something  _ very interesting  _ is going to happen tomorrow.”

Lero gulped at the look in Road’s eye as the young girl began to skip away, twirling the parasol between her fingers, around and around and around.

* * *

**July 27th**

Allen woke up early that morning, before any nurses or doctors could come in from their rounds, with a plan. Today was the day he was escaping this place. Frankly his injuries were fine, he just needed answers and he knew he wouldn’t be finding any if he was sat in a hospital bed all day. 

The first problem he had to tackle, however, was his lack of clothes. Sure he was wearing a hospital gown, but he couldn’t exactly leave wearing it since someone could notice and would no doubt try to haul his ass back inside. This, of course, wasn’t an option, so he looked around the small room for any sign of something that he could wear. 

He opened up a few drawers and dug around its contents, only finding a few pens and documents in the first cabinet. He moved on to the second one and cheered when he opened the last drawer to find a couple of airtight bags full of marked ‘evidence’ and things from ‘the crime scene’. Among the baggies was one that held his clothes from that night.

He pulled the bag out and grimaced a bit at the sorry state of his clothes. Through the clear bag he could see the clothes were stained with blood and he hesitated before opening the bag to get a better look at its contents. That night he had been wearing a maroon t-shirt and black jeans, so thankfully the blood wasn’t as noticeable as it would’ve been if he had been wearing white. He sighed as he held the shirt up, noticing some stains on the top that dripped down to the torso area. He figured if he just kept his head down once outside, then no one would notice. In any case, this was his only option so he just had to deal with it.

Once he got dressed he tried not to shiver at the odd feeling that wearing these clothes again triggered. Shaking his head, he took a deep breath before looking around the room. The clock on the wall read that it was 6:23am and he figured he had a good half an hour before anyone came barging in. His plan was to leave through the window since he knew if he attempted to set foot outside the door the normal way, he’d be forced back into the room and probably get put on surveillance, maybe even end up with a roommate.

Allen carefully made his bed as a quick courtesy to the nurses and who had helped him this past week as he felt a bit guilty just leaving out of the blue, but he couldn’t burden these nice doctors any longer. Plus he was just occupying a bed that could be used for someone who really needed medical attention. His case was different, he was fine, just different. And that’s why he had to leave and get some answers. 

Plus, he needed to see his friends again since he was sure Lenalee was worrying like crazy. She tended to be that way even when he didn’t reply to her texts after just a couple of hours. He made a mental note to be better at that.

There was also a brown duffle bag by his bedside. He wasn't sure how it had ended up there or where it had come from, but he figured he'd bring it along with him anyway. Just in case in had important medical stuff or pills he had to take. He didn’t check to see what was inside. 

The second problem he had to face was his issue with the sun. It was still early in the morning now, but the sun would rise soon, which meant he had to be extra careful maneuvering his way around. He wasn’t sure how far away his apartment was from this hospital either, but he figured he’d follow the main road into town and orient himself there. Maybe he could ask someone to use their phone since he didn’t exactly have his with him, just his ipod. 

Allen took a deep breath, gave the room one quick look around, and grabbed the bag before walking toward the window. He pulled the curtain back slowly, and sighed in relief to see that the sky was still relatively dark.

He looked towards the door one last time before unlatching the lock on the window that kept it closed, and slowly lifting it upwards, instantly feeling the early morning chill hit his skin. He stuck his head out of the window and gauged how high he was from the ground. Since there were no railings or balconies he could jump too, he figured his best bet was to lift himself out of the window and drop from the ledge into one of the bushes below. It wasn’t going to be pretty, but it was his only option. Plus if he did get injured, he had a feeling that it wouldn’t be much of an issue for long, since something about his new body had allowed his burns to heal quickly. He still wasn’t one hundred percent positive on what that meant, which was why he needed concrete answers before he jumped to any conclusions. 

So naturally the person he needed to speak with was none other than the guy who’d tried to kill him a week ago. Though finding him would be another story. He had no idea what the guy’s name was, or where he lived, or even what his face looked like. He just knew his voice, which wasn’t exactly helpful in this situation.

Allen swung his right leg over the edge of the window first, letting it dangle in the open air for a second before swinging the other one around. He shifted his body so that his hands could grasp onto the window before he attempted to lower himself as much as possible against the wall before attempting to let go. He was surprised when his arms didn’t shake as he lowered himself as far as he could, and he counted to three before dropping toward the bush below. 

Hitting the leafy shrubbery feet first, he twisted a bit before landing on his back in the ground, and he groaned before sitting up. It honestly hadn't hurt that bad, and the bush had cushioned the fall for him pretty well, though he wouldn’t recommend ever doing that again. Peering around the side of the building, he watched as a few doctors made their way inside. 

He waited until the coast was clear before sprinting to the nearest tree and hiding behind it. With his back pressed against the bark, he looked past the fence that outlined the perimeter of the hospital and saw the city in the distance. If he just followed down the main road, he figured he would be good. He just had to avoid being seen by anyone first.

Ducking his head, he did his best to blend in with the fence as he walked along it, avoiding eye contact with anyone. A family passed by en route to the hospital, probably going in to visit someone dear, and he tried to remain unnoticed, but a child stopped suddenly before him.

“Woah! You have strange hair, mister.” The little girl looked up at him with wide eyes and Allen froze, only looking up enough to smile slightly at the girl.

“Yumi, come back her!” Her mother called in a hushed voice and walked over to apologize.

“I-it’s fine, really.” Allen quickly rushed trying to get out of there as fast as possible, and he panicked when he saw a doctor making their way out of the hospital. He turned his head back toward the ground and quickly sped out of the hospital grounds.

By the time he’d reached the city, the sun was climbing its way up the sky. Allen had been doing his best up until this point to walk under as many awnings and trees that he could manage to provide any sort of shade, but eventually the heat of the sun became too hard to dodge. 

He felt sweaty, and he kept his hands lodged into his pant pockets with his head down, watching his feet. If he didn’t look up then the pain was manageable. He just had to stay in the shade and out of the direct sunlight and he’d be good. It might mean he’d get some strange looks from passerbyers, as well as take a bit longer for him to get home, but it was his only option if he didn’t want to end up turning into a pile of ash.

He continued ahead, breathing a bit heavily as he felt the warmth of the sun trying to pinch at his skin. When it was almost to the point of suffocating him, he ducked inside a nearby boutique to catch his breath. Once inside, he quickly found his way over toward the back corner of the store to remain out of the way. He pulled a shaky hand from his pocket and tried to collect himself, before a voice spoke up behind him.

“Hello, sir! Do you need help finding anything today?” An employee stood behind him and Allen froze, trying to ignore the sound of blood he could hear pulsing through the person’s body.

“Sir?” The employee was about to reach a hand out to touch him, but Allen quickly shook his head and leaned out of the way. “I’m fine, thank you.” He whispered before turning his back once again. He didn’t want to be rude, but he couldn’t handle talking to this person right now. The sound of this blood... it was intoxicating.

“O-okay, sir. If you need any help just make sure to ask and I’ll be happy to assist you.” The employee bowed and Allen listened to the sound of their feet walking away before he could relax. He took a deep breath before the sound of the bell above the door caught his attention and he watched as a group of people came in, chatting amongst themselves. 

He took another deep breath to control himself and he suddenly felt claustrophobic in this small boutique. Ducking his head, he snuck by the group before rushing outside and sprinting down the sidewalk. He had to get out of the city. There were too many people here and it was making him uncomfortable. 

He quickly rushed through the main square, pushing passed various groups of people as his eyes darted around. It was hard to focus all of a sudden. His skin burned and he could hear lots of different sounds. There were moving people everywhere and the smells, the blood, everything was so disorienting. Though he tried to push through it as best as he could, he could hear the many overlapping voices of people nearby and far away. 

Covering his ears with his hand, he attempted to block out the noises as he quickly ran down the sidewalk. When he found himself by a particularly big crowd of people, he had to stop to catch his breath beneath a tree. When they passed by he swallowed and licked his lips as a delicious smell wafted from the group. He felt his mouth salivate and he struggled against his sudden urge to- to-  _ No! Stop it!  _ He slapped himself in the face to gain some control. He wasn’t thinking clearly and the sun was messing with his head.

He covered his mouth with his hand as he forced the despicable thoughts in his head to go away. It felt like his stomach was eating itself from the inside out, and he ignored the pain to keep moving forward. He was so close, he just had to make it back to his apartment in one piece.

He rushed from tree to tree in order to hide within the shade that the leaves casted upon the ground, and he pretended to tie his shoe so as not to appear so obvious. Once he found himself standing outside his apartment complex, he took one last deep, shaky breath from beneath the tree to gain the courage to sprint inside as quick as possible. By now the sun felt like a flamethrower against his skin and he rushed up the stairs as fast as possible before slamming into the wall to catch his breath. His skin sizzled and he thanked whatever God was out there that his apartment had an awning. 

He traced his hand along the wall for support as he shakily made his way over toward his door. Thankfully he’d felt a key in his back pocket, and he shoved it into the slot before quickly turning, and opening the door. He shut it behind him and sighed in relief that he’d made it inside, setting the bag he’d been carrying on the ground before he fell down to the ground. The cool tile floor felt so nice against his burning hands. 

God he really felt like he was going insane. The constant, overwhelming hunger buried deep inside him was insatiable and he watched lazily as the skin on his right hand cracked and sizzled. 

Unable to fight the pain now that he was safely indoors, he lost consciousness, slipping off into a peaceful darkness.

* * *

Road stopped to stretch once she found herself standing on the corner of a certain apartment complex she'd visited the day before. She whistled to herself as she twirled Lero around in her hand and jumped over the gate to enter the complex. She honestly didn’t  _ need _ to bring the parasol with her in the first place, but in a way it felt like Lero was her accomplice. No matter how much the umbrella spazzed and refused to go with her, it only made her want to tortue it even more! Which was exactly why Lero was joining her on her little midnight excursion. 

“Miss Road, Lero? D-do you smell tha- ack!” Road shushed the umbrella and grinned widely, hardly able to contain herself.  _ Oh she smelt it of course. _ And if the smell was coming from where she  _ thought _ it was, then her night would be getting even  _ better _ than imagined. 

She made her way into the backyard as she eyed the second floor balconies, following the scent to the right one. She narrowed her eyes and made sure the coast was clear before her eyes turned golden and her fangs protruded from her mouth. Her bones shifted and her skin darkened as an ominous aura surrounded her as she finished the transformation. “Ahh much better.” She grinned at the umbrella who gulped in fear. 

Road walked back a few paces before eyeing the balcony, and in one swift movement, she sprinted forward before jumping 15 feet into the air, right into the balcony box. Lero, on the other hand, was breathing heavily, shaken by the quick movement. Road ignored its incessant protests as she peered through the window. She didn’t have to adjust her eyes and was able to see perfectly through the dark window. Her eyes lit up with excitement and she opened the window with ease before climbing inside the apartment. 

The smell from before was even stronger now, and radiating off of a certain boy who was currently lying on the floor. 

“Well isn’t this exciting, Lero.~” Road licked her lips as she made her way over to the boy. He was radiating a strong smell, a smell that she’d know anywhere. This boy was very much alive, and smelled just like a vampire. 

“M-miss Road, Lero!” Lero was whispering but Road could tell the umbrella was doing everything in its power not to yell. “Th-that boy is a-a-!” Road cupped a hand over the umbrella’s mouth, staring it down with her piercing gold eyes.

“Shhh! Don’t be so noisy, Lero-chan~! The humans may hear you!” Lero shook slightly and nodded before Road released her hand from its mouth. “And yes, Lero, this boy appears to be one of  _ us _ .” She kneeled down to examine the boy closer and grinned as Lero floated next to her, keeping a wary eye on the potential enemy. 

“Hmm, looking a bit malnourished aren't we?” Road poked the boy’s white cheek, going off scent alone, she could tell he hadn’t made the complete transition yet. He still hadn’t tasted the blood of a human. Road clicked her teeth. 

“Tsk tsk~ don't you know you need to eat in order to live? A growing boy like you needs to keep his stomach full, silly!” She chastised him with a grin before noticing the burns on his exposed hands. She could see them visibly trying to heal, but the process was slow. Way slower than it  _ could _ be. 

“Baka~” Road hit the unconscious boy on the head playfully. “The sun is dangerous! You should be more careful when you decide to go outside during daylight hours.” She shook her head and sighed before standing.

“M-miss Road, Lero-?”

The umbrella watched as Road’s eyes sparkled within the dark and she bent down, wrapping her arms around the boy before dragging him over to the bed.

“Miss Road-?” 

Road ignored the umbrella as she rolled up one of the sleeves of her dress all the way up toward her elbow. If he still hadn’t completed the transformation, then she’d assist him before tending to his injuries. She moved her wrist up to her mouth before biting down hard against her own flesh. Lero shrieked, eyes wide, and Road watched as a dark red, almost black liquid dripped from the bite mark. Before the flesh could knit itself back together, she moved her wrist to the boy’s mouth.

Lero quickly yelped in protest, “Missus Road, Lero! You’re not actually going to give him-” Road glared at the umbrella, silencing it with her cold stare, as she allowed the boy to drink from her wrist.

The liquid poured out gracefully, hitting his lips first, but when he’d gotten just a small taste, his eyes shot open as he bit deeper into her wrist. 

Road blushed as she felt the boy suck the liquid from her wound as he gripped onto her skin with sharp nails. His eyes were red and wide and she bit her lip as she watched the transformation take place before her eyes.

Lero was stunned silent as Road allowed the boy to drink from her.

Once she felt like he’d gotten enough, she narrowed her eyes and her aura spiked as she pulled the boy off. His eyes were still red and blood dripped from his chin as he eyed her cautiously. She could tell he was still feeling the effects of the bloodlust so she stared him deep in the eyes, luring him in with her dominating goldens as the dark aura around her spread throughout the room.

His red eyes were locked into hers as her aura suffocated the space between them. With one quick flick of her hand she was able to manipulate the space around him to force him to feel lightheaded and dizzy. She couldn’t risk him going crazy from bloodlust on his first night as a vampire, so she’d eliminate the issue by knocking him out for now. Plus she still had to tend to his burns, though they’d heal as soon as her blood took complete effect.

A few seconds later the boy passed out onto the bed, and Road blinked before her eyes changed back to their purple color she retained in her ‘human-form’ along with the rest of her skin.

“There we go.~” She stretched and jumped off the bed to smirk at the umbrella who held its tongue. She then pointed to her cheek, speaking aloud as she turned to face the boy again.

“His mark is in quite the unfortunate place I see. So obvious too.. Hmm sucks for him!” She giggled before spinning on her heel as she made her way toward his bathroom. Since the boy used to be human, she assumed he had a medicine cabinet with first aid equipment somewhere around here. 

Lero floated near the newly-turned vampire, wearily. The new ones always made the umbrella nervous.  _ If the Lord found out about this- or did he already know? _ Lero panicked. If he didn’t know then Lero would have to tell him, but if he  _ did _ know, then that meant he also knew that Lero was here, which meant he knew that Lero was involved, and if Lero was involved, then Lero would get punished! Lero sweatdropped as Road hummed from the other room.

She returned moments later with a first aid kit in hand but she stopped suddenly when her eyes landed on a bag on the ground. She had noticed it before and she kneeled down to open it curiously. Her eyes widened and she grinned in fascination at when she found.

She had smelt it earlier, but just assumed it was the various smells of the delicious humans who lived next door, but no, this sight was much more beautiful. As much as she wanted to grab one for herself, she figured a newly turned would need these more than her, so she did him a solid and carried the bag into the kitchen to properly store its contents in the fridge so they wouldn’t spoil. 

Road walked back into the room with a grin. “My my..someone was busy at the hospital.” She winked at the umbrella who looked away and Road stuck out her tongue before jumped over to the bed with the first aid kit.

“I’ve always wanted to play doctor.~” She giggled before getting to work on healing his, now faded, burns.

* * *

**Earlier that same night,**

Miranda was walking back to her apartment after having been chewed out all day by her Resident at the hospital because she’d lost a patient. Her Resident had made her search the entire hospital all day just looking for him, and when she turned up empty at the end of it all, she received a stern talking to as well as a strict surgery probation. That meant she couldn’t assist on any surgeries until she proved herself responsible enough to handle another patient without losing them. So it was safe to say that Miranda had had a pretty shitty day.

She gloomily hung her head and stared down at her shoes as she walked on the sidewalk, doing her best to blend into the shadows. 

She was spiraling back into her negative thoughts of self-loathing, thoughts of which she’d tried so hard to correct, that she wasn’t paying attention to where she was going and a man bumped into her. She yelped at the sudden action before falling onto her bottom.

She instantly began to sputter out apologies. “Ahh!! I-I’m sorry, sir! I wasn’t looking where I was going! I-It’s my fault, really I’m sor-!”

A velvety soft voice cut through her ramblings. “No, it’s not your fault. I wasn’t paying enough attention either.”

Miranda looked up wearily to see a large, bald man with a kind smile looking down at her. At least, she assumed he was looking at her since he had dark shaded glasses over his eyes but was extending a gracious hand downward for her to take.

Miranda blushed slightly before shakily grabbing his hand. “Ah t-thank you. You’re too kind.” Miranda stuttered and dusted her dress off as she corrected herself on her own two feet.

“It’s no problem, really. Just be careful, miss.” He nodded and Miranda blinked to see him walking away. She still felt a bit frazzled at the interaction, and when she turned back to continue walking home, something caught her eye. There was a piece of paper posted on a lamppost she’d passed by earlier, and she walked over to get a better look.

Posted on the paper, was the word ‘Missing’ in big, bold lettering, and beneath it was the picture of a young boy. Miranda looked at the picture intently, finding something about it to be oddly familiar.

The picture was of a young man, a teenager, with auburn hair tied back into a ponytail. Miranda had never seen a boy like this before, but there was something about his piercing gray eyes that she just couldn’t place her finger on. Intrigued, she continued reading down the page and gasped when she got to the boy’s name.

Printed below picture it read, ‘Allen Walker, 17 y/o, Height: 5’ 8½” Weight: 123lbs, with Auburn hair and silver eyes, last seen July 19th. If seen, contact XXX-XXX-XXXX immediately, his friends are very worried!’ 

Miranda’s eyes were wide and she quickly grabbed the flyer from the post and found herself running, but not towards her apartment. She was clutching the paper in her hand as she sped down the sidewalk.  _ She had to be sure. _ Their names were the same, but their appearances were so different- she just  _ had _ to be sure.

Her heels clicked against the concrete as she ran all the way back to the hospital, rushing past a few visitors who were leaving for the night as she pushed through the front doors. She was huffing and puffing, but that didn’t stop her and she continued to rush through the lobby.

The receptionist at the front desk was surprised to see her speed by. “Miranda? Back so soon?”

Miranda turned to yell back. “I-I just forgot something! Haha silly me!” She huffed before quickly making her way towards the elevator. One of her coworkers was walking by with another intern as she watched the number on the elevator go down carefully.

“Hey Miranda,” one of the interns had stopped next to her, but her eyes stayed locked onto the elevator doors. “Sorry Reever chewed you out earlier today. Probation sucks. Oh- but did you hear about what happened the other night? Apparently someone broke into the blood bank and-” 

“Ah! I don’t have time for this!” Miranda rushed out, when she realized the elevator was taking too long, and made a bee-line for the stairs. 

“Oh uh- great talking to you..?” The intern watched as she sped up the stairs, taking two at a time, before disappearing into a hallway.

Miranda was still clutching the missing poster in her hand as she sped all the way to the intern work stations. 

_ It had to be here. It had to. _

She quickly sat the flyer on the desk before digging through the filing cabinets that lined the wall. “Come on come on.” Her hands shook as she flipped through the various folders that were haphazardly thrown inside. She had to find it. _ She had to be sure. _

After a couple minutes of searching, she cheered in triumph when her finger landed on the folder titled, ‘Allen Walker.’ She dug through its contents a bit before finding a picture of the boy they’d taken after he’d woken up. She placed it next to the flyer and she smiled widely. It was a match. They had the same eyes. This was the same boy. It had to be. They had the same name, age, and height, plus he was admitted a day after the ‘last seen’ date marked on this paper. This was Allen Walker. Her missing patient.

Even though it was good that she now had a contact to call of somebody who knew the boy, she still had so many questions. What had caused him to lose so much blood when they’d first found him? How had he survived..? And not to mention his appearance.. He looked so different in the ‘missing’ poster. His hair had pigment and his skin was warmer too. What had happened to him? 

Miranda scribbled down the phone number from the poster onto a notepad, reminding herself to give the contact a call tomorrow morning. It was too late to call now and she didn’t want to be rude, so she’d call tomorrow for sure. Tomorrow she’d hopefully get some answers.

She also felt a bit relieved that she could tell her Resident that she’d basically found Mr. Walker. Hopefully this would mean she’d be off probation soon too.

Miranda carefully folded the poster up before placing it in her bag, and she sighed in content before heading home for the night… again.

* * *

**July 28th**

Road was whistling as she walked down the grand staircase within the manor. She made her way into the parlor room, where she sensed a few of her siblings were, and she grinned wickedly. She had contemplated bringing Lero along with her to share the news, but  _ he _ had snatched the umbrella off like usual. She wondered if the umbrella would snitch.

Standing at the bottom of the staircase, Road stopped to listen to her brothers before she walked through the doorway.

“It’s my turn to watch something, Devit.” Jasdero whined and made an attempt to grab the remote out of his brother's hand, who was holding it back as far from his reach as possible.

“Oi my shows not over yet so wait your turn already!” Devit countered, shoving his brother away who pouted and turned to the other man in the room for guidance. “Brother Neah, Devit won’t let me watch A Very Merry Mix-up!” 

Neah sighed, as he tore himself away from his first edition Pride and Prejudice. “You're both grown men, I’m sure you can figure this out by yourselves..”

Road smiled before she made her presence known and skipped into the room. “Dero~ Why do you want to watch a Christmas movie hmm? It’s July, silly.” She patted his head like a dog and he seemed to enjoy it for a second before he snapped out of it.

“..I just like Christmas movies okay! It’s not weird, haven’t you heard of ‘Christmas in July’!” He turned his attention back to his twin. “Now j-just give it to me, Devit!” 

“Hell no!” Devit jumped from the couch as Jasdero began to chase after him. The two moved in a blur as they sped throughout the manor, causing a ruckus and knocking furniture and priceless vases all over the place. 

Road giggled before sitting down on the couch and staring at Neah. She swung her legs around and cleared her throat in order to get the man’s attention.

Neah didn’t even look up from his book as he humored her. “Yes, Road?”

“Oh nothing..” She teased and Neah sighed.

“Seriously if you have something to say, just spit it out already.”

Road grinned wider. “Oh well if you insist. I just wanted to let you know that I paid a visit to your little ‘dead’ friend last night.~” She sang in a lilting tone and Neah looked over the top of his book to give her a confused look.

“What are you even talking about, Road?”

Road blinked. “Wow Neah have you forgotten already. You must be getting old.” She stuck her tongue out playfully and he rolled his eyes at the ironic humor. “You know, the boy. The one you  _ thought _ you’d, ‘drained whole,’ a few nights ago.”

Now  _ this _ had gotten Neah’s attention.

“Well as it turns out, he’s very much~ ‘alive’.” She grinned, holding up two fingers to her mouth to indicate fangs and she laughed mirthfully at the look on Neah’s face.

“Wait you don’t mean-” 

“Yup! You turned him, you idiot! Hahaha!” Road bellowed, hugging her arms to her chest as she leaned back onto the couch to laugh at her brother’s expense. Neah stood up suddenly, as a flash of panic crossed his eyes. He tried to think of how to handle the situation and Road ceased her laughing fit to add more fuel to Neah’s flame of panic.

“And what’s even better about this is that you know  _ he’s _ gonna have your ass on a platter once he finds out you turned another one!~” Road sat up, staring Neah straight in the eyes as she grinned devilishly.

Neah felt sweaty and he cleared his throat, quickly trying to compose himself and get a grasp on the situation as professionally as possible. “Road, please, promise me you won’t tell  _ him _ okay? Let me just handle this just- just tell me what you want.” 

Road narrowed her eyes before grinning. “You already  _ know _ what I want, Neah. And LOTS of them this time.” 

“Agh dammit seriously?  _ That’s _ what you want?”

Road nodded and Neah swore under his breath. “That's going to be a pain in the ass to get my hands on, but fine- just keep your mouth shut and don’t tell  _ him. _ I can take care of this so he doesn’t  _ ever _ have to find out, okay?.”  _ I won’t-no, I can’t let this turn out like last time.. _

”..No promises!” Road stuck out her tongue playfully and Neah wanted to facepalm but resisted the urge. Even though Road acted like a child, he knew she wouldn’t go back on her word as long as he delivered her side of the bargain. But that was going to be a lot harder than he’d like to admit as he now had to make plans to get 500 type B blood lollies made for her before tomorrow. 

_ Dammit… _ As much as he wanted to call Road on her bluff and rush outside to prove her wrong, he still had to wait for the sun to set before going back there. But he had a feeling she wasn’t bluffing and that thought alone really made his skin crawl. He couldn’t focus on reading any longer, and just had to wait until it was safe enough outside. And as soon as the sun had started to set in the sky, Neah grabbed a hat and parasol before making his way outside to find the boy.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the kudos!! :-) I hope the dates not being in chronological order isn’t too confusing. If anything, it makes sense in my mind lol .. :p and sorry for any typos, I'll try and fix them if I see them!
> 
> Also, at the end of the chapter Neah is reading a first edition Pride and Prejudice novel that was published in the 1800s. Only 1,500 copies were sold at the time and it wasn’t until the 20th-21st centuries that the novel gained the notoriety that it has today. What’s important about this scene is that it shows that the book is authentic, highlighting how long he may have been around for. 
> 
> Hmm I wonder what Road's intentions are with Allen. She's such a fascinating character you can never tell with her hehe :-) oh and Happy (day after) Halloween, I really meant to upload this sooner lol sorry!


	4. Do It Now, Remember It Later - SWS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neah formally meets Allen

**4 - Do It Now, Remember It Later - SWS**

**J** **uly 28th - 8:13 pm**

When Allen woke up, he was surprised to find himself laying in his bed. The last thing he remembered was passing out on the floor yet here he was. Maybe he’d woken up earlier in the night and had managed to drag himself over here and had just forgotten about it. He supposed it didn’t really matter to dwell on it anyway. 

He rubbed his eyes before blinking up at the ceiling, and was pleasantly surprised to find that his eyesight wasn’t blurry anymore. In fact, he could see almost _too_ well and when he held up a hand in the open air, he could see it perfectly in the dark room. His hunger had also subsided drastically since before, and he licked his lips unconsciously. It was weird, his body felt so different than before and he didn’t feel as hungry either, yet didn’t remember eating anything.. Had the sleep healed him? He touched a hand to his lip, having a weird phantom feeling like something had been there but what exactly he wasn't sure.

Wait… _ had he eaten something last night? _ He shot up from the bed, eyes wide. _ What had he eaten? Did he kill someon- _

Suddenly, Allen turned his head at a sudden presence lurking in his room that originated near his bookshelf. In the darkness he could see him perfectly. It was him... the same man from _ that _ night.

Neah smirked when the kid finally noticed him. He’d been occupying himself before by reading through a random novel he’d picked up to pass the time. The title was intriguingly brainless, ‘Recipes of the World’ that he had to give it a quick read through. And given the state of the shithole apartment that he was standing in, it didn’t seem like the kid was a prodigy chef or anything crazy, so he wondered what the boy was doing reading about recipies.

“What are _ you _ doing here?” The kid spoke up, eyes narrowed in suspicion which only made Neah grin.

“My my, still a bit feisty I see.” He walked forward so he could be illuminated better under the sliver of moonlight that shone from the between the curtains. “But relax, I come as a friend rather than an enemy, though I do hope you’ll forgive me for the circumstances under which we originally met.” Neah put his hands together in mock apology and the boy shot up at this, eyes fiery.

“Y-you killed me! That’s what’s different right? You killed me and I’m undead or something insane!” He was pointing a finger at the taller man accusingly, looking overall frazzled at the revelation.

Neah tilted his head to the side. “Guilty as charged.” He grinned and the boy gasped.

“Wait I’m actually dead?!” He lifted a hand to his neck to check for his pulse. “That’s why I can’t feel anything. Holy crap.. I’m really dead!” He was obviously freaking out but was trying to keep his voice down due to the fact that it was nighttime, which made Neah all the more excited to share the news.

“Well technically you were right before. You’re undead! All thanks to me that is.” Neah winked. “I could've drained the life from you completely but nope, you got lucky and get a second chance to live, so be grateful!” 

Allen looked at him like he was crazy, which he kind of was, and voiced his protests. “Lucky?! I’m lucky that my skin burns when I walk outside! I-I need actual answers right now Mr… Mr gah I don’t know your stupid name.. creepy murderer guy!” 

“Charming. But my how informal of me.” He bowed in apology and Allen felt like he was getting whiplash from this guy’s odd theatrics. “My name is Neah D. Campbell, pleasure to formally meet you. Now if you’ll properly calm down, I’ll explain the situation to you as I know it, alright?” He paused and Allen shook his head hesitantly. 

“Great! Well for starters, yes, you are undead. That night a week ago I killed you and drained the blood from your body. At the time, I had thought I had killed you and thus attempted you dispose of you properly, but as it so happens, you are alive today and coursing with a newfound power." 

"This power, however,” He paused, picking up a random nicknack from the desk to findle with as he spoke, “comes with .. certain _ conditions _, if you will.”

Allen had sat down on the bed once more, and now that he'd seemed to have calmed from his initial shock, his voice came out softer than Neah had expected. “..Go on.” he urged and Neah rose a brow.

“Well, if we want to get technical, the class from which you belong to now is that of the Vampires. You are no longer identifiable as a human and thus have many different abilities that will only continue to increase in strength as you tailor to them.” 

“I’m sure you’ve noticed a few already, such as how you are able to see me perfectly in such a dark room. You can thank your vampirism for that.” He bowed in example and Allen just watched, attempting to process everything that he was being told. Neah, on the other hand, was almost certain that he was blowing the kid’s mind right now. And so he continued.

“The effects of your transformation have also been apparent in more ways than one.” He smirked resisting the urge to flick at the boy’s hair. "Have you even seen yourself yet, kid? It’s truly quite fascinating! You look almost unrecognizable from before.” Neah clapped and the boy remained serious, clearly not finding the same enjoyment from their current situation as Neah was.

Neah had honestly been expecting another outburst or harsh rebuttal from the kid, but continued to be surprised when a soft, velvety voice escape pink lips. “Wait a minute. Earlier you said you _ thought _ you’d killed me..” Neah continued to smile, knowing already where this was going.

“So me becoming like this, was purely an accident then?” His voice was level, still remaining calm.

“Bingo! That’s the reason why I had to pay you a visit tonight. It’s imperative that you listen to what I’m about to say very carefully. Turning mortals into vampires is a bit of a taboo in our ‘clan.’ To put it in simple terms, there is one of us who, in a way, rules amongst all of the vampires within this town. He is someone to be feared amongst mortals and immortals alike, and hasn’t been too keen in the past of his underlyings creating more of _ us _ without his approval.”

“You see, this man, he likes to hold all the power within his grasp, so when someone tries to step on his toes and take a chance at playing God, it doesn't always fair well for the ones involved. And as much as some of us may despise these rules, _he_ is the Original immortal being, so his word is final. That is how its been done for many years now.”

Allen nodded even if he didn't completely understand just yet, and he was curious what made this mysterious man so divine. He wondered what an Original vampire was like, and considering that he didn’t even believe vampires existed until this week, he was a bit scared to find out. Still, he needed to show that he was at least comprehending the warning. “..So you’re saying that we have to work together in order to keep my existence a secret from '_ him,' _ right?”

“Exactly.” Neah narrowed his eyes and grinned. _Thank god this kid is sharp._ He was worried the spit fire would be too much of a hassle that he’d have to dispose of him indefinitely, but no. This boy actually seemed intelligent. How intersting. “Now, just go look at yourself in the mirror already! I’m dying to see your reaction.” Neah clapped childishly and Allen wondered how many different personalities this guy had.

“What? Is it really that different? I haven’t looked in a mirror at all since then so... I guess I probably should.” Allen got up wearily and walked to the bathroom, preparing himself for what he’d see once he flipped the light switch on. And what he saw was not the change he’d been expecting _ at all. _ In all honesty he'd thought that maybe Neah was just being over dramatic and the only change would be that his eyes were now red instead of their previous silver color, but no, this was much different. As soon as the light flickered on, Allen widened his eyes at his reflection in the mirror. He even had to blink a few times just to make sure he was really seeing himself correctly because this transformation.. it was drastic. 

Allen’s once messy auburn hair was now white as starch. His skin was also significantly paler than before, though not ashen like Neah’s, and most shocking of all, he had a black pentacle engraved on the left side of his forehead that stretched down across his left eye and went all the way down to his cheek. The sight alone was quite overwhelming all at once, and he even backed up into the wall a bit in surprise. 

Neah chuckled behind his gloved hand as he watched the scene before his eyes.

Allen already had so much to process and now he had to add his appearance to the list. His eyes locked in on the black symbol that marred his porcelain flesh, and he carefully rose a hand to trace the pattern with his finger. While he was practically having an identity crisis, Neah seemed to be amused.

After a few seconds of shock, Allen managed to find his voice and was at least a little proud that it hadn’t come out as shaky as he now felt. “So this all happened because of-”

“The transformation.” Neah supplied, smiling widely. “Though I will admit, your previous red hair was feisty and fun, but this silver of yours, ah wow just so breathtaking. Your transformation has got to be my favorite one to witness so far.”

Allen paused. _ ‘'So far?' So there were others before him?’ _ He didn’t get a chance to comment on it though, as Neah was still going on about his new appearance. 

“As for that pentacle, let me explain. After one is bitten, a red pentacle appears on the skin. Its location varies from individual and then proceeds to turn black only after they’ve completed the full vampiric transformation, or in other words, after they’ve feasted on the blood of a human.”

Allen froze as Neah continued to ramble. “Though I do enjoy the vibrancy of the red marking, the black does help when trying to fit in amongst human society. It mimics that of a tattoo, though I suppose red ink isn’t as unreasonable these days. Anyway, once they've killed someone, then they're good to go. Perfect camouflage” He finished casually, walking out of the small doorway of the bathroom, leaving Allen no other choice but to follow after him into the other room.

He had to drink the blood of a human.. But his pentacle was already black it made no sense. _Could that have been why he didn’t feel as hungry before? Had he really killed someone already?_ Allen reached up to brush his lips with a shaky finger. “But I don't remember.. I- I never-”

Neah cut him off with a wave of his hand. “Calm down, you didn’t kill anyone.” He sighed as if he was annoyed before continuing, “_Road_ took care of that for you.” 

_ ‘Road?’ _ Allen furrowed his brow in confusion, and looked expectantly at Neah as he waited for the man to fill in the gaps for him.

“Road is a vampire like me, though we’re vastly different as well. Her blood is the exception amongst our kind in that it has the power to heal. It’s one of her many ‘gifts’ as an Original.”

There was that word again. ‘_ Original _.’ ..Allen wondered what that really meant in this connotation. 

“Her blood also doesn’t taste foul as it normally would if you were to drink say, mine or your own blood. So don’t get any ideas and try to drink your own blood when you get really thirsty! Jasdero can testify to that.” He smirked. 

Allen nodded before swallowing in discomfort. He was still feeling really unsure about all of this and was secretly hoping that maybe this was all just a big fever dream and he’d just wake up and be completely normal again. He even tried to pinch his thigh a bit to see if he’d wake up, but to no avail. Then Allen remembered something that he thought was odd. “Wait.. if I really am a vampire now, then how come I could see my reflection in the mirror earlier? Isn’t that a vampire thing?” 

Neah chuckled behind his gloved hand. “Ahh so naive. Not everything you read about supernatural beings is true you know? Legends, fables, whatever you want to call them, aren't all true. Though a few of them are.~” He winked and Allen felt a shiver go up his spine at the thought of dragons somehow being real in a remote cave somewhere. Neah sensed his apprehension and was happy to jump in. “Don’t worry I'll teach you everything you need to know about your new life, as well as the various other beings you may encounter now that you have a different scent.”

Neah also took a moment to notice how much gentler the boy's overall presence was now than it had been the first time they’d met. He was more eloquent in his speech and actively tried to remain composed given the circumstances. Neah had honestly been expecting a lot of fighting and swearing from him, so this sudden personality change made him wonder if his newfound vampirism was to blame. 

“Okay teach me now then. I'd like to learn about all the changes.” Allen’s voice cut through the vampire’s musing and he rose a brow at the bold declaration. 

“Eager to jump right in now, are you?” He winked and paced around the room as he prepared the speech. “Well, as I’m sure you already know, direct sunlight is not our friend. You can still be out during the day, but you have to manage it carefully.” He idly twirled the black parasol he’d brought with him just in case before gesturing toward it, “and that's why things like these come in handy. Covering up, whether it be with a hat or a coat, sunglasses or a parasol, these things are key to avoiding direct contact with the skin. If it can be helped, avoid being outside for long periods of time as well. Not only can it become a strain on your skin, but it can strain your eyes as well. Your body is a lot more sensitive now, but that also means it can become much stronger too.”

Allen nodded, feeling like he needed to write all of this down somewhere but decided against it.

“In turn, if you wish to continue to live amongst the humans, you will have to be able to control your bloodlust. Everything you do from now on comes at the cost of blood, a vampire’s life source. Going around and killing your classmates when you’re hungry simply won’t do.”

“I’d never do that.” Allen answered immediately and Neah smiled at the naivety.

“Of course you wouldn’t. But you still need to be careful. You can’t remain moral forever you know. Eventually you’ll have to kill a human, whether you like it or not, and before you try to argue your way around it, believe me. If you want to continue living, you need to consume blood.”

Allen knew this but that didn't mean it still wasn't hard for him to wrap his head around. He knew vampires drank blood, but now that he would have to partake in that act as well.. It was hard. Just the thought of drinking another human’s blood made him feel sick.

“Oh that’s right.” Neah’s voice brought him out of his thoughts. “Road told me she visited you the other night.” 

“She did?” Allen questioned. He didn’t remember meeting this Road person at all so how..? _ Wait- had she been the one to move him to his bed- And was she the one he drank from- .. so he hadn't killed anyone after all? _

“She may have aided you this once,” Neah had caught on to his current train of thought and Allen looked up. “But don’t think you can survive off of her blood alone. It’s not enough.” Neah looked serious now. “You may end up hurting those you care about, you know.”

Allen was remained of his friends. He still had yet to see them after this whole mess, and he was starting to wonder if maybe he just _ shouldn’t _ see them again. Now that he was practically undead, he wondered if it would be better for all of them if they just forgot about him. He couldn’t be selfish, he had to do what was best for his friends safety and if that meant distancing himself from them completely, then that’s what he needed to do.

“‘If i wish to continue living amongst the humans,’" Allen repeated what Neah had before said, “as opposed to what? What’s my other option?” 

Neah grinned. “I’m glad you asked. Well, you see there are three options for your life as of now.” He held up his index finger in the air. “The first option, you do as I say and lay low. You follow all the rules to blend in with the humans while still maintaining your health as a vampire and stay out of trouble. The second option,” He grinned, holding up another finger, “you come live with me and the Others. I’d have to do a bit of truth stretching to explain how you came about, but maybe he’d go easy on me once he met you. The Others would no doubt welcome you with open arms too.” The way Neah had said that last part made him feel a bit uneasy. “Or, of course, there’s the third option.” Suddenly the atmosphere in the room shifted and Neah moved at the speed of light, holding Allen up against the wall by his neck. “I kill you right here, right now.” His eyes flashed a golden color as his pupils formed into slits, like that of a cat. Allen blinked wide eyes as he struggled in the taller man's hold. But as quickly as he was up against the wall, Neah released him as if it were nothing. 

Allen dropped to the ground and coughed as he rubbed a hand over his throat. Neah stretched with a sigh before reaching a hand down to help him up. “So what will it be then hmm?” 

Allen honestly felt a bit conflicted. Why couldn’t he just run away from this town forever and never come back? Why was that not an option? He obviously wanted to remain with his friends but that’d be at the risk of their safety. The second option didn’t seem all the great either but it was at least some kind of escape though he wasn’t sure how well he’d do surrounded by a bunch of vampires when he still hadn’t figured out how to handle himself. And the third option.. Well, dying would guarantee that his friends would be safe but.. _ Dammit _. 

Neah was waiting for an answer. “..I-I suppose I chose the first option.”

Neah grinned. “As expected.” He clasped his hands together. “Then I’m looking forward to helping you.~”

"Allen. My name's Allen."

"Well nice to meet you, Allen~." He grinned and Allen dusted off his shirt before looking up. "Why are you helping me anyway? And why are you being so nice to me?” He looked Neah in the eyes, studying him for any flash of an ulterior motive. Neah looked to the side, almost like he was blushing, and Allen narrowed his eyes.

“Why it’s obvious really.” Neah almost looked like a school girl who was about to confess to their crush and Allen blinked awkwardly. “I was the one who turned you, so in a way, that makes you like... my son~” Neah’s voice was uncharacteristically gentle and when he looked at Allen, he even winked. 

Allen, on the other hand, hadn't been expecting that at all. “O-oh..” He felt embarrassed now. He'd thought this guy must have some sort of hidden agenda but really it was because he felt.. responsible for him? Like... _a_ _ father. _. Jeez that would have to take some getting used to.

“And because you’re just so darn intriguing. Gosh look at you! You're adorable!” Neah gushed suddenly and Allen had a feeling this guy was bipolar or something. He grinned at Allen devilishly and the boy wanted to face palm. This was all way too weird.

“Okay, okay... I get it, just, stop it’s weird.” Allen down and Neah smiled wider. _Here he was already embarrassing his new son! He just earned some major Dad points for that one!_

“Alright then let’s start with lesson number one, food.” Allen nodded and Neah idly walked over to his fridge, finally addressing something he’d noticed as soon as he’d snuck into this apartment. Neah opened up the refrigerator and smirked at the sight. “Did you hear about what happened at the hospital the other night?”

Allen furrowed his brow at the sudden change in topic, but answered nonetheless “..uh no what happened?”

“Oh apparently someone broke into the blood bank supply.” He spoke casually, glancing upward from the opened door.

“Oh really? Yeaht that's weird, who would do that?”

Neah chuckled silently. “Allen, Allen, Allen.” He tsked. “You can't be reckless like this in the future.~ We have a way of handling our hunger so it goes unnoticed by the humans, silly.” 

“What are you talking about-” 

Neah reached inside the duffle bag that was stored within the refrigerator, and carefully pulled out a single blood bag, dangling it in the air for the boy to see. 

Allen on the other hand was shocked. _ Where had that come from? _

“What the- did you put those in there?!” Allen rushed over and Neah stepped to the side as he pulled the entire bag out of its compartment. Seeing all the bags of red within the confines of the casing made Allen’s mouth water, but he ignored the feeling as he shakily zipped the bag closed and shoved it at Neah.

“Take this back I don’t want it..”

“Oh? You don’t _ want _ it?” Neah rose a brow and Allen fidgetted. _Did he really not remember stealing the blood himself or was he just pretending?_ Neah dropped the bag at his side, watching how Allen tracked it with his eyes, and then grabbed the boy by his cheeks to better examine him. 

“Neah what the-”

He stared into his silver eyes as they looked anywhere but his own golden ones. The boy was shaky at the sight of the blood. _Had his hunger taken over last night?_ _Perhaps that is what had caused him to steal the bags… the sensation must have overcame him due to how new it was, yet he didn’t indulge.. How interesting. _

“Neah-” 

“You haven't had real blood yet, have you?” He pulled away from the boy and Allen looked around nervously.

“Are you kidding.. of course not..” 

Neah sighed. “Boy, you really need to drink something substantial. Since you're a new one, the first drink is essential to completing the process. If you don't- well..” Neah trailed off and Allen felt uneasy, he also wished Neah would just put that extra blood packet in the bag with the rest of them. The sight alone was making it hard to focus.

“ ..well what?” Allen urged and Neah moved so they were inches apart. 

“The Hunger.. it can, and will, consume you. I’ve seen it happen before." Neah looked thoughtful, "His name was Skinn. He was a good man... Though tragic, there's a lesson to learn from him. If you don't drink, you’ll break..” he tapped at the side of his head, “in more ways than just physical. But then again, you shouldn't have to worry about that for now. It seems Road has taken care of the first drink for you.” Neah says nonchalantly and Allen paused.

“Wait- what? Then why did you say all that stuff about 'real' blood...I thought you were going to make me kill someone tonight or something...”

“Oh nonsense. You’ll at least be fine for a short while, maybe a month, but you will need to consume human blood if you ever hope to get stronger.” Neah picked up the extra blood bag once again and Allen looked away with a pout. 

“You have an adorable pouty face, do you know that?” Neah poked his cheek and Allen backed away. _This guy was so frustrating to deal with. _

“Lesson two, you’ve already noticed it, your new abilities. Your senses are more heightened now and your eyesight is sharp even in the dark. You’re able to hear your neighbor a few doors down watching television and your wounds have healed at an unnatural rate. You may also feel a lot stronger, like you could lift anything and not even break a sweat. These things, these intense feelings, are further aided by the consumption of blood. And since Road has given you some of hers, then you should be fine for the moment.”

"She also doesn’t just go around giving her blood to anyone either, so that means either she’s taken an interest in you or… well it doesn't matter, just remember you eventually need to turn to humans for proper nutrients..”

“Great..” Allen didn’t know if he should feel nervous that this vampire person helped him or not cause that meant he probably owed her something now. Allen sighed and rubbed at his temples. This was all way too much to process in such a short time, but at least he had Neah summarize the main important parts. Though it was all easier said than done. Allen now knew that not drinking blood for long periods of time would lead to madness, blood helps increase the performance of vampiric ‘special abilities’, sunlight is dangerous but there are ways around it, and any wound he’s inflicted with will heal faster than before… perfect. He was a monster.. Just freaking perfect..

Neah had been answering his questions and filling him in on the details of his new life, that he stayed until well into the early morning and finally had to leave. In order to make it back before sunrise, Neah told him he’d be back at nightfall once again with some books he’d acquired, and even written himself over the years, to better assist him in his newfound vampirism. These books were handwritten and ancient, containing countless years of experience from the recounts of an actual vampire. 

As Neah prepared to leave through the window, he paused to turn back to the white haired boy, and in another show of theatrics, called to him, “Until next time, my boy.” He smiled and Allen deadpanned as he jumped from the window. 

“Ack! Please don’t call me that!” He yelled after him, but Neah had already vanished. He felt like he was in a movie.

But now that he was finally alone, Allen allowed his shoulder to sag in defeat. He couldn’t believe that all of that had actually happened. He felt like his brain was going to explode.

He slowly closed the window once again and pulled the curtains back so that the room would be dark, and was at least thankful to see that the duffle bag was gone. He felt drained and figured he’d at least try and get some sleep. If he was really going to try and do this ‘living amongst humans’ thing, then maybe he would go see his friends tomorrow. He knew they were probably worried and he felt bad. 

He rubbed a hand over his eyes. He was never the best at apologizing in the past, but he always told them the truth. This time he was going to have to lie to them though. It was the only way to protect them. Plus he didn’t know how they’d react if he told them the truth anyway.. They might not even believe him at first- I mean- it was pretty insane. He wasn't even sure he'd believe himself like, '_ Hey guy’s guess who’s back! Yep and I turned into a vampire so, not gonna lie, the blood pumping through your veins right now smells delicious, mind if I get a quick taste?’ _

Agh no that was horrible! Allen kicked his legs against the bed in irritation and sighed. God he was going insane he could even smell blood right now that’s how messed up this all was. Wait a minute.. he could smell blood..

Allen moved his hands from his face suddenly having a really bad feeling. He stood up and walked over to the kitchen. Neah had taken the duffle bag, he saw him, yet… Allen wearily opened up the fridge and braced himself for what he was going to see. And sure enough, sitting atop an old Tupperware of noodles, was a bag of B positive, shimmering underneath the fridge light. Allen quickly closed the door. _There wasn’t actually a bag of human blood sitting in his fridge. He was just going mad.. Right?_ He shook his head and carefully opened up the fridge again, and sure enough, the bag remained in its place, taunting him. 

“No. I won’t.” Allen grabbed the bag and ran over to his desk. There was a locked storage container beneath it where he kept some important personal things, and he quickly dished the key out of his desk and unlocked the storage. He bit his lip before shoving the packet in the container and closing it shut. He didn’t even want to see the damn thing and frankly he didn’t care if it went bad either. This blood bag was only going to be used for emergencies only... 

He locked the storage bin once again and threw the key back on his desk. Out of sight and out of mind. Even though he could still smell it, he would just ignore it. 

He went into the kitchen and thankfully pulled an air freshener out of the a drawer. The thing had never been used, let alone opened, so he took off the wrapping and sprayed the air for good measure. He figured he could just mask the smell of blood with .. Mediterranean Lavender? 

Whatever, it didn’t matter.. Now that that was at least semi-taken care of, he just wanted to sleep and forget about all of this. He plopped down on his bed and sighed into his pillow. He’d figure out how to deal with his friends tomorrow, or.. later today, considering it was technically a new day already. Allen had probably fallen asleep for a good five minutes before he heard a loud knocking coming from his door.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve had a lot of random parts of this fic written out for days now, this chapter included, so hopefully I can get these uploaded faster since we’re finally getting the plot rollin’! Also, I feel like to be consistent with uploads, I’m planning to post a new chapter every friday at around 5:00pm est, but if I end up finishing a chapter early, then I’ll just upload anytime during the week lol. :-) This fic is basically just me ignoring the fact that I have homework to do and essays to write before this semester ends though lmao. Thanks for the kudos! :D
> 
> Next chapter ‘Allen reunites with his friends.’ (I was gonna include it in this one, but it got so long already and i already fell behind schedule with the upload schedule so i said fuck it, next chapter!)


	5. Death with Dignity - Sufjan Stevens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allen reunites with his friends.

**5 ** **Death with Dignity - Sufjan Stevens**

**July 29th - 7:02 am**

Allen awoke to a loud banging coming from his door. He wasn’t expecting anyone so soon, so could Neah be back already? Did he possibly leave something behind? Or even worse, had he slept through the whole day?! Disoriented, he quickly scrambled out of bed. 

If it was Neah at the door, then what the heck was he being so noisy for, and why hadn’t he’d just snuck in through the window like he had the other night? It was too early for Allen to have so many questions- or was it too late? Dammit he wished he owned a watch in times like these.

He slapped his cheeks to wake himself up as he approached the door, where the knocking continued. It was loud and he braced himself, fumbling with the various locks on his door.

* * *

**Meanwhile outside, **

“Alright asshat, this is your last chance to open the damn door! If you’re really in there, quit being a damn pussy and get out here already!” Kanda yelled, slamming his fist against the worn metal, almost denting it with the force of his fist. He didn’t care that he was being too loud given how early it was. Enough was enough and if anyone had a problem with it, they’d have to get through him. And as much as Lenalee felt bad potentially waking up the neighbors, she was glad that Kanda still seemed to be as passionate about finding Red as her.

Kanda stopped knocking for a moment and the group was stunned silent when they heard a lock flip before the door slowly creaked open. 

Allen carefully poked his head out, having to blink against the sudden harsh light and yawned into his palm as he did his best to not get hit by too much of the sunlight. “Geez do you really have to be so loud..” Once his eyes fully adjusted, he froze. Standing before him was certainly not Neah, but was none other than Kanda, Lenalee, and Lavi all taking him in with equally wide eyes. 

Allen was stunned. It felt like he’d gotten the wind knocked out of him and his brain couldn’t form the proper sentences to fit the situation. Thankfully one of his friends was never able to shut up, so he helped break the silence.

“Holy fuck, RED?! WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT ACTUALLY YOU DUDE?!” His loud, red headed friend, Lavi yelled, making no haste to quickly tackle Allen to the ground in a hug as they landed on the floor of his apartment with a resounding thud. 

Allen was too dazed to see the pissed off expression on Kanda’s face from the doorway, as well as the look of shock still prominent in Lenalee’s eyes. She looked as if she still couldn’t properly comprehend what she was seeing, and tears gathered slowly in her eyes as she finally found the courage to move, pushing her way inside with Kanda behind her.

“Dude you look crazy different! What the hell is up!!” 

“Lavi get off of him!” Lenalee cut off Lavi’s rambles, kneeling to pull him off of their now white haired friend. Since when had Red ever mentioned dyeing his hair? She also noticed the bandages poking out of his clothes and, if possible, her eyes widened even more.

“Hes injured, Lavi get off!” She pulled Lavi up with Kanda’s help and Allen remained on the floor, eyes still wide. He knew this interaction was bound to happen sooner or later, but he was hoping to have an explanation for all of this planned out beforehand. He wasn’t prepared for this at all.

“SERIOUSLY THOUGH,” Lavi continued, voice loud as ever, “WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO YOU MAN, AND WHY HAVEN'T YOU BEEN ANSWERING YOUR PHONE?!” Even though he was yelling, he didn’t look mad, just overly curious and Lenalee made an attempt to shush him. Allen took his time standing up. He just needed a moment to get his thoughts in order as he slid past Kanda to properly close the door. 

“Come, sit down and I’ll try and properly explain my absence.” Allen moved to welcome them into his messy little apartment, rushing to at least turn on a lamp since he’d been sitting in total darkness before not daring to open a window.

“You’d better answer all of our questions, Moyashi.” Kanda grumbled, moving to sit on the floor and distanced himself further when Lavi tried to sit too close. Lenalee subconsciously pulled the blanket back on Red’s bed before sitting politely on it and Allen smiled at the gesture, hoping things could start feeling more normal between them. Right now the room was uncomfortably tense, and Allen’s mind raced trying to get all his thoughts in order.

“Answer my question first.” Lavi shot his hand up as if they were in a classroom, and Allen nodded nonetheless. Even though he’d only been gone for a week, he’d missed Lavi’s childlike excitement. No matter the situation, Lavi always strived to be a beacon of light that made any tense interaction feel a lot better. 

“So where the hell were you and why didn’t you answer any of our text messages? I know you’re kind of shit at responding,” Allen tried not to let that slight jab get to him. “But come on man, I sent you some pretty great stuff! The least you could’ve done was leave me on read so I would've known you saw them in the first place...” he trailed off and Allen blinked trying to decide which of that to unbox first.

For starters, “That was actually two questions.” Allen corrected him and Kanda sent him a look like he knew Allen was just stalling for time. 

“But um, it’s honestly kind of a long story.” He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly trying to avoid that topic as much as possible. “But as for my phone...” He honestly had forgotten about the damn thing during all of this. He felt bad for ignoring his friends for this long when sending a quick text could’ve eased their minds. If he had had it with him at the hospital then he could’ve tried to avoid this sudden barrage. He turned, walking over toward his bedside table and fumbled around its contents before pulling out his phone. It was an old gray flip phone that had a cute little rabbit charm dangling from the dust plug that he’d gotten from Lenalee ages ago. 

His friends collectively deadpanned at seeing it here since he hadn’t been answering this whole time. “I guess I never brought it to the hospital with me aha sorry..” He laughed bashfully and Lenalee wanted to throw a pillow at him for how nonshelaunt he was being about all of this, but she also didn’t want to hurt him since he was clearly still injured.

“Jesus Red, you were at the hospital?” Lenalee gasped, standing for her place on the bed in order to force Allen to take her place. “What the hell happened to you?”

Allen winced feeling bad for having worried his friends for so long. He had meant to get in contact with them sooner, but a lot had happened in the past week and he really didn’t have his phone on him. He’d never been that into social media anyway, but he knew his friends worried when he didn’t answer quick enough. He made a mental note to start carrying his phone around with him more.

“Really Lena, I’m fine now.” He reassured her though sat down anyway, “And I’m sorry about going radio silent, I really meant to get in touch with you guys sooner but I kinda just got back yesterday… hah.” 

“We.. We thought you were gone, Red.” Lenalee sat beside him, placing a hand gently atop his in a show of comfort. “We made missing person flyers...” 

The sadness in Lenalee’s eyes made Allen feel even more like an asshole.

Kanda broke the tense atmosphere this time. “Oi Moyashi, you still have to explain what the hell happened.”

“Oh right...sorry.” He fumbled with the bandages on his wrists before taking a deep breath. He’d have to try and explain this after a bit of intense editing since he couldn’t exactly tell them that he’d gotten bit by a vampire now could he. He wasn’t necessarily sure they’d believe him if he did either.

“Take your time.” Lenalee nudged him softly and Allen smiled slightly, collecting his thoughts together before turning to face the group.

“So it happened the night after the graduation ceremony, kinda unlucky right? Ehem, well I was walking back home and I guess I wasn’t really paying attention to where I was going, and a car kinda- woosh!” He made a small smacking motion with his hand to indicate what he was trying to say.

He felt bad lying and when he glanced at Kanda, part of him had a feeling that he _ knew _ Allen was lying. The guy was practically analyzing his entire being, eyes narrowed in suspicion and clinging on to every word.

“...Jesus, Red.” Lenalee looked sad again as she carefully squeezed Allen’s hand before inspecting the various bandages that wrapped across his pale skin. She glanced up toward the bandages around his neck, making a face in sympathy even though Allen assured her that he was as good as new. 

Further inspection brought her to the other elephant in the room. Allen’s bright, white hair.

“...and your hair what- did you dye it?”

Allen furrowed his brows for a second before the realization hit and he reached upward to touch his hair absentmindedly. “Oh that.. yes, I guess you could say that I dyed it.. yeah I uh.. wanted to change things up.” His answer was weak and he knew it, but obviously he couldn’t tell them about how he died and it just turned white when he resurrected as a fucking undead vampire. If he wanted his lies to be more believable, he needed to answer with more conviction. But it was easier said than done since he already felt so guilty as it was.

“And that scar or tattoo, whatever it is- how’d you get that?” Lavi asked, pointing to his own check and Allen blushed slightly, touching the spot as if he could feel the mark, though the symbol was oddly the same texture as his skin.

“Right …” he really had to bullshit his way through this one “I got cut during the accident and it looked pretty gnarly, so I figured why not make it look more um… intentional?” He finished, more like a question than a statement, and shook his head slightly. He had to act more confident or else none of this would be believable enough. 

Thus he continued. “So as soon as I left the hospital, I went and got this tattoo to help blend it better..I guess it was all that extra adrenaline that led to the sudden decision.” He scratched his cheek nervously before grinning. “I honestly never found tattoos quite appealing until now, but I have to admit, it’s not too bad.” He lied through his teeth looking away and resisting the urge to face palm himself for his bullshit explanation which he doubted any of them even believed. Seriously what kind of idiot would go and get a huge face tattoo as their first ever tattoo... apparently in this scenario, he was that kind of idiot. Allen really hated the odd symbol on his check. It made him look like a delinquent when he was honestly the total opposite… He really was just an unlucky person. 

The plus side of being injured, in the eyes of his friends that is, was that he knew they’re at least pretend to believe his story and be nice for the time being, but after he had fully healed and the novelty had passed, he had a feeling that they'd once again berate him for more cohesive answers, especially Kanda. But Allen himself wasn’t sure how he was gonna tackle that conversation. The real truth wasn't exactly something that Allen could share with them, now or ever. If they did know the truth about him and this new lifestyle of his, then they would just end up getting dragged into this whole vampire mess and he didn't want to put them into any danger. He’d feel horrible if anything happened to them because of their connection to him. 

Allen swallowed a lump in his throat. Just thinking about what Neah or the ‘Others’ he mentioned would do to his friends if they knew he still hung around humans, made his stomach churn. So that’s why he needed to protect them.

Unconsciously, he clenched his fist at his side.

“Allen?” Lenalee called again when he hadn’t responded the first time, and Allen blinked before turning to face her.

“Sorry, what was that?” He smiled again, hoping it wasn't too obvious that he hadn't heard a word of what they’d been saying just now.

“...uh we were just asking if you were really okay, you just seem kind of.. different.” 

_ Different. _. oh.. was he acting different? He couldn’t remember how he even acted before all of this.. could that have something to do with the whole undead this? He needed to see Neah again so he could help answer more of these questions.

In the meantime, it seriously felt like he was failing at talking to his own friends.. He’d talked to them countless times before, they’d been friends since elementary school for christ sake, yet here he was failing his way through one simple conversation. He resisted the urge to apologize again.

“Yeah everything’s fine, just a little tired.” He waved them off, trying to get past the awkwardness so that he could just talk normally with his friends like usual.

Allen made the mistake of glancing at Kanda who was eyeing his throat in particular. Self consciously he covered the spot where Neah had punctured his skin with his palm even though it was covered by a bandage, but he had a feeling Kanda could see through the lame wrapping. 

“Does it hurt?” Lenalee asked hesitantly, not mentioning a specific place in particular.

“Ah no not anymore. That’s why they discharged me. I’m all good now, honest!” He stretched his arms around to prove his point. “See I don't even really need these silly bandages anymore, so don’t worry about it!” He stood and began unravelling the bandages on his right wrist to show them. Lenalee seemed to be against the idea, but Allen showed them the skin beneath the wrappings was perfectly fine before excusing himself to properly remove the bandages in the other room. When Lenalee offered to help, he insisted that he could handle it just fine and that they should just hang tight and he’d be back in no time. He even hesitated closing the door all the way and left in open just a crack to ease any discomfort they might have of him leaving again so soon.

When he returned moments later, the group noticed Allen had left the bandages around his neck, but before anyone could properly ask about it, he beat them to it. “Ah just a bit on my neck hasn’t healed yet, it’s no big deal.” He rushed, trying not to make a deal out of it as he joined his friends in the room. It really was just that one spot on his neck, though he wondered if it would ever heal. Once his hair grew a bit longer he figured he’d just use that to cover it.

It had honestly surprised him when he’d looked in the mirror to find that the only wound still marring his skin were the two puncture marks on his neck. He made a mental note to ask Neah about this too, since he would dread having to wear turtlenecks and scarves all the time if the wound would end up as a permanent addition to his skin like the pentacle already disfiguring his left eye. 

“Oh that’s right.” Allen remembered another thing he had to apologize for, feeling even more like a shitty friend with each passing second. He bowed slightly using it as an excuse to hide his face for an instant. “Sorry for missing out on that movie, I know we had all planned to see it before..” He trailed off awkwardly before moving to sit up properly. “Um but we can still hang out here right? I mean, if you're all not doing anything that is..”

Lavi grinned widely. “No yeah, of course we can hang out, dude! We’ve got some major catching up to do to make up for that lost time.” 

Once again Allen found himself appreciating Lavi’s ‘ray of sunshine’ personality through all of this. 

Lenalee smiled, doing her best to act normal again. “Let’s at least open the curtains or something. It's so dark in here, Red.” She laughed slightly, moving to grab the drapes but Allen quickly stopped her.

“No!” He blurted out before rushing to the curtains to pull them closed._ Well that wasn’t subtle at all.. _ “I-I mean no, you don’t have to do that haha.” He struggled for a moment to think of another excuse. “It’s just— the balcony! Yeah the balcony is such a mess right now we don’t need to look at that.. Uh lemme just turn the rest of these lights on instead!”

“Oh, okay.” Lenalee blinked, moving to once again sit amongst the others while Allen fumbled with the light switches on a few lamps. 

Once the room was lit in a nice, warm glow, Allen went back over to join his friends. The lights didn’t even aggravate him as much as he’d anticipated which made him feel a bit better about this whole situation. If anything it gave him some hope that he’d be able to live life like this.

“..Hey Red, I don’t know if you noticed this, but your whole room is kind of a mess..” Lavi commented, now that they could properly see the mess of clothes and discarded video games and books that littered the floor.

“Isn’t it always.” Kanda supplied and Lavi seemed to nod in agreement, holding up a copy of the book _ Slaughterhouse Five _ to prove his point.

“..Oh yeah I guess you're right..” Allen felt a bit embarrassed that his room was in such a state when he had guests over, even if they were his closest friends. “I'll clean it later.”

“You're actually gonna clean it for once? Thank god.” Kanda scoffed and Allen felt a bit confused by this.

“Yeah of course, why wouldn’t I?” He replied as if it were obvious and ever stacked a few CDs that had been thrown haphazardly across the floor before pushing them to the side.

“Just surprised is all. I never thought I’d see the day where you actually picked up a rag and cleaned something.”

“Oh shush Kanda, Red has always been messy. It’s hard to change something like that overnight.” Lenalee tried to make Allen feel better, but it just made him want to prove them wrong. He felt like a different person after his run in with Neah, so his friends would be in for a surprise next time they visited because Allen was going to get better at doing the tasks he never did before, and it seemed like being cleaner was the first one on the list.

Meanwhile Lavi, who had been snooping in the fridge, turned to pull out a carton of milk that had gone bad. “Hey man, all the food in you fridge here is spoiled.” He said before making a show of pouring the old milk into the sink and Allen suppressed a shudder at the way it had curtled.

“Sorry I haven’t really had time to get groceries or anything.” Allen lied before glancing at the clock on the microwave. “Ah it’s still nearly breakfast time, you guys must be hungry.”

“Oh man I’m starving like you wouldn’t believe!” Lavi dramatically feigned hunger pains and Kanda shot him a glare to stop acting like a child. 

This gave Lenalee an idea, “Ooh, we should go out to that new cafe that just reopened for the summer! You know, Mr. Takazaki’s over on Millow Street.”

“Great call Lenalady!” Lavi had snapped out of his whining and was now giving Lenalee an array of ‘well done’ high fives. “I’ve been dying to try their signature cinnamon waffles!” 

Allen couldn’t help but smile at his friends antics. Things were slowly starting to feel normal again. “Yeah, that sounds fu-“ Allen paused suddenly having forgotten the whole ‘human food tastes like ass’ situation that he was stuck in. He really wanted to hang out with his friends though, so he figured if it came down to keeping up appearances, he supposed he could fake it til he made it. (And hopefully Neah would teach him how to stomach it soon.)

Kanda gave him a strange look and Allen corrected himself. “I mean, yeah it sounds fun. We should go!”

Lavi cheered, already running to the door as if it was a race and Lenalee laughed slightly following after him. Kanda remained as if he was going to ask Allen something, but the white haired boy wasn’t about to let himself be alone with Kanda. 

“Come on Kanda.” He smiled slightly as he stood and went over to grab his phone along with some cash which he shoved deep into his pockets. Kanda begrudgingly joined the others already waiting outside the door but made sure that Allen knew this conversation wasn't over.

When Allen was about to set foot outside to join the others, he was reminded of another concerning detail. The sunlight. He quickly rushed back into his apartment and looked around to see if he even had anything that would help protect him from the sun. So far he’d managed a coat and a pair of sunglasses but he couldn’t find an umbrella anywhere. When it rained in the past, he’d usually just grab one of the shared umbrellas from school and return it the next day. 

_ Goddammit _. He started to panic. _Why did he never have anything he needed?! Hadn’t Neah left one here the other day?_

“Red?” Lavi questioned poking his head back inside the door when he noticed Allen had rushed back inside.

“Oh one second guys, just looking for something!” Allen called back as he started looking through every corner of his room in search of an umbrella. Even a hat could work as long as it covered his face for the most part.

And while Allen practically tore his room apart inside, his friends were waiting on the front porch and making small talk where Lavi seemed to voice what they’d all been thinking. “Ok tell me I’m not the only one who noticed that he’s acting super weird, right?”

“Shhh Lavi, keep your voice down.” Lenalee hit his arm playfully, peering inside the open door in case Red had been nearby. She didn’t like talking about people behind their backs. 

When the coast seemed clear though, she allowed herself to relax. “But you’re right. He seemed.. I don't know, calmer than usual? But also like he wasn’t telling us the whole truth..”

“Yeah what the fuck.” Kanda supplied, leaned against the railing, arms crossed and face as stoic as usual. “Shouldn’t the damn Moyashi have been screaming at us or at least, I don’t know, fucking swearing or something like usual? Hearing him speak so politely all of a sudden was giving me the creeps. And I know for certain there's something he's not telling us... God it freaking pisses me off.” 

“Maybe he’s got brain damage or something.” Lavi whispered and Kanda smacked him on the side of the head.

“What!? I could be right!” Lavi argued. “He was at the hospital for like.. a whole week, right? Maybe something more happened.”

Lenalee looked contemplative. “Yeah but he said he got hit by a car.. I don’t know I feel like that seems reasonable. Maybe he’s just acting different because it was a traumatic situation...”

“But he also mentioned that his injuries had healed so quickly… It just makes me wonder what’s actually the truth.” Kanda said which had the whole group thinking.

They had to change the subject though when they heard footsteps approaching from inside. “Alright I’ve got it!” Allen called, standing a few paces from the door with a black umbrella in hand and adorned in a long black coat and accompanying dark orange sunglasses. “Uh just incase it rains.” He added, ignoring the odd looks his friends shot his way as he proceeded to open up the umbrella before stepping outside to join them. 

“Since when did you of all people care if you got rained on?” Kanda scoffed. “And what’s up with the ridiculous outfit, Moyashi?” 

Not only had Allen changed into a coat, but he adorned a long sleeve turtleneck and pants, hoping that it would help with the whole ‘sun issue’. _ Better safe than sorry right? _

“Dude- aren’t you gonna sweat in all that?” Lavi remarked. “It’s like,” He paused to pull out his phone to accurately check the temperature, “92 degress Fahrenheit out.” He shoved the phone screen in Allen’s face who just laughed and shooed him off.

“Nonsense, I'll be fine. Honestly I was feeling a bit cold earlier.” He lied, walking ahead toward the stairs before turning back when he realized no one had followed him. 

With a smile on his face, he waved them over excitedly. “Let’s go! Where’d you say this restaurant was at again?”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow this took forever to write lol.. I honestly couldn’t think of how to write the character interactions properly since I didn't want it too seem too OOC but I also didn't want it to be too stereotypical.. hhhh sorry for the delay!!! I also cut it shorter than I planned but oh well. Please enjoy nonetheless!!!! I wish I could be more consistent with my uploads but every time I come up with a schedule, I always end up failing at it so I think it’s a curse.. I seriously envy authors who are able to stick to upload schedules.. Lol but that's not me so uploads will come whenever I have time between school so please be patient! 
> 
> Also thank god January is over. That month seriously felt like an eternity! Make sure to stay safe everyone and I’ll try and upload whenever I can! Don’t give up on me~ (*´ω｀*)
> 
> !!! Also bye if you read the manga, dgm chapter 235 has me a whole mess!!! TnT every time I see little Red I just wanna cry because he is so precious and pure ugh I wanna give him a big hug and tell him everything is going to be okay but :-((( Hoshino senpai loves to make us suffer lol


End file.
